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More trade payments settled in yuan

"Changes such as a pilot quota scheme announced in March that allowed a handful of foreign companies operating in China to move funds freely across borders is boosting trade volumes and encouraging other foreign firms to settle trade in yuan. A cash squeeze in the mainland in recent weeks may have made some firms reluctant to use yuan to settle payments, but that appears to have been a temporary impediment as money market rates have come back down. Redenominating Chinese trade in the yuan versus U.S. dollars has always been the primary goal for Beijing and analysts expect the recent wave of reforms to boost yuan trade settlement." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMore trade payments settled in yuan

Selling in Chinese Yuan: A Tool for U.S. Exporters

"China's 'internationalization' of the RMB shouldn't be confused with liberalization; its borders are still far from porous when it comes to moving money, and the process comes with a lot of paperwork and bureaucracy, said Kok-Chi Tsim, managing director for international banking at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank N.A. in Chicago. Still, it could be worth it for many exporters as a means of cutting costs and attracting new customers, Mr. Tsim said at a breakfast seminar organized by the Georgia China Alliance and attended by more than 40 people.On average Chinese exporters charge about a 5 percent premium to settle transactions in U.S. dollars versus RMB." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSelling in Chinese Yuan: A Tool for U.S. Exporters

Chinese RMB likely to replace dollar in global trade

"Globally, the use of RMB has been increasing since 2009, when China launched a pilot programme to internationalise its currency by allowing the RMB to be used to settle cross-border trade. Since then, China’s trading partners have increasingly been able to use the RMB when paying for imports or receiving payments for exports. In 2012, 12 percent of China’s total trade was paid for in RMB, up from three percent in 2010. By 2015, HSBC expects that around 30 percent of China’s total trade — equivalent to around $2 trillion — will be settled in RMB. There are more than 30 markets worldwide conducting over 10 percent of their business with China in RMB." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChinese RMB likely to replace dollar in global trade

China plans to allow yuan trade settlement for individuals this year

"China is looking into how individuals and small businesses can settle trade using yuan this year, a People's Bank of China official told Reuters on Monday, potentially opening a massive new conduit for Chinese currency to flow into global markets. At the same time, by allowing individual traders and companies, Beijing can help eliminate the risk of currency fluctuation for individuals and small enterprises in the import/export sector. Chinese individuals are only permitted to exchange the equivalent of $50,000 per year for use in overseas purchases or investments, but many companies have managed to get around these restrictions through trade." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina plans to allow yuan trade settlement for individuals this year

More countries use Chinese yuan to settle international payments

"Of the 160 countries that settled payments with Hong Kong and the mainland last month, 47 had at least 10 per cent of their transfers made out in the yuan, according to SWIFT, a global member-owned co-operative servicing financial institutions. The number of countries 'crossing the RMB river', or having at least 10 per cent of payments valued in the yuan, grew 9 per cent in the nine months to April this year, SWIFT said in a report yesterday. Italy and Russia are among the major adopters of the yuan. Other places where the currency is increasingly popular for payments include Britain and Singapore, the organisation said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMore countries use Chinese yuan to settle international payments

76% of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck

"Roughly three-quarters of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck, with little to no emergency savings, according to a survey released by Bankrate.com Monday. Fewer than one in four Americans have enough money in their savings account to cover at least six months of expenses, enough to help cushion the blow of a job loss, medical emergency or some other unexpected event, according to the survey of 1,000 adults. Meanwhile, 50% of those surveyed have less than a three-month cushion and 27% had no savings at all. Even more disappointing; The savings rates have barely changed over the past three years." Continue reading →

Continue Reading76% of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck

Argentina Applies Law That Jails Hoarders as Bread Price Surges

'Interior Commerce Secretary Guillermo Moreno announced the measure in the official gazette today. The 1974 law allows authorities to freeze prices and obliges companies to maintain supply. Those in breach are subject to fines and imprisonment. 'If the law on supply is applied, the one who should go to jail is Moreno himself,' former Economy Minister Martin Lousteau said in an interview with Radio Mitre today. 'He’s to blame for the lack of wheat in Argentina.' Argentine wheat production has decreased since 2006, when President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s predecessor and late husband Nestor Kirchner set export quotas." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArgentina Applies Law That Jails Hoarders as Bread Price Surges

Military Plans to Maintain Power in Egypt after Coup

"Behind the scenes, the military, led by General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, plans to continue running the show. Since it took power in a coup in 1952, the military has remained the most important political player in Egypt. Neither Mubarak's fall in 2011, nor the short rule by Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, have changed this. At 58, el-Sissi is the country's youngest general. He has never fought in a war, and only knows about conflicts with Israel from the stories of others. He belongs to a generation that was invited to receive military training in the West. In 1992 he was in Britain, and in 2006, the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMilitary Plans to Maintain Power in Egypt after Coup

Missouri governor vetoes bill to nullify federal gun laws

"The legislation would have made it a misdemeanor crime for federal agents to attempt to enforce any federal gun regulations that 'infringe on the people's right to keep and bear arms.' It also sought to invalidate some specific federal laws, including a 1934 law that imposed on tax on transferring machine guns or silencers. The measure would have made it a misdemeanor to publish the names of gun owners. Missouri's age to obtain a conceal-carry permit would have been lowered to 19 instead of the current 21, and the bill would have allowed people with concealed gun permits to openly carry firearms up to 16 inches long." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMissouri governor vetoes bill to nullify federal gun laws

Wall Street Journal says Egypt needs a Pinochet

"Presumably, the WSJ thinks the Egyptians now have 17 years in which to think themselves lucky when any who dissent are tortured with electricity, raped, thrown from planes or – if they’re really lucky – just shot. That’s what happened in Chile after 1973, causing the deaths of between 1,000 and 3,000 people. Around 30,000 were tortured. Presumably, the WSJ hopes a general in the mold of Pinochet (or generals, as they didn’t break the mold when they made him) will preside over all this with the assistance of Britain and America. Perhaps he (or they) will return the favour by helping one of them win a small war." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWall Street Journal says Egypt needs a Pinochet