BRICHOUSE

China decision affects gas prices

2011-01-08T10:57:00.000-08:00

More on rare earths. The shortage is actually increasing the cost of gas indirectly.

Consolidation of Power Evident in Russia

2010-12-30T09:11:00.000-08:00

Putin is quite transparent when it comes to flaunting his power. The latest example, keeping in jail someone who opposes him.

China reduces rare earth exports

2010-12-28T08:53:00.000-08:00

Most of the minerals used in high tech devices come from China. Now the export of these valuable minerals is being limited. Check around, there are only a few companies outside of China into rare earth mining. Might be something to look into.

Russia and India Partner Up

2010-12-21T06:27:00.000-08:00

News is that Russia and India will partner up to make generation reactors for nuclear power plants. Great to see two members of BRIC join forces to keep growing.

India has plenty of thorium so this undoubtedly will help.

Tension on the Korean Peninsula

2010-12-19T08:40:00.000-08:00

China and Russia are strongly opposed to South Korea's planned live fire exercise set to take place by Tuesday. Live fire drills conducted by the South a few weeks ago are what set off the initial artillery shelling by the North.

Inflation hits China hard.

2010-12-18T09:14:00.000-08:00

Inflation is affecting the Chinese. I know Chinese graduates are heading to the big cities with high hopes, then having trouble finding jobs that pay even minimal wages. Something to keep an eye on in hopes of them avoiding civic unrest.

Rio Tinto Employees go to trial in China

2010-03-22T00:40:00.000-07:00

On trial for 'bribery', according to the Chinese government. I don't like how the Chinese government is limiting access... par for the course for them. They just want to put pressure on the company to get lower prices for their state run companies.

Asia Business Worries Over Swine Flu

2009-04-26T23:40:00.000-07:00

Uncertainty abounds regarding outbreak of swine flu. We are still in the early stages but investors are nervous and eagerly awaiting to see how this all plays out.

Stay up to date on the investigation by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Yuan Being Pushed

2009-03-31T04:32:00.000-07:00

Keeping in line with the Chinese government pushing the yuan internationally recently, Argentina will be allowed to make orders from China in RMB and not the USD so commonly used. Countries short on dollars might find this particularly advantageous. The US government continues to hand out money at a staggering pace so we will see how this plays out.

India's Investment Appeal

2009-02-23T07:35:00.000-08:00

Fund managers say India is nearly as good to invest in as China, as seen in the WSJ article. One must keep up on all the options out there that are available. It's important to not ignore a huge potential growth story like India while it is still getting started.

Weakening Rupee

2009-02-18T17:15:00.000-08:00

Bloomberg has an informative article related to the strength of the rupee. With so much attention given to the currency of China, keeping informed on how other nations are doing can fall a bit to the wayside. Keep up to date!

Brazil does bailouts too!

2008-12-26T01:39:00.000-08:00

Not quite a bailout actually, it's a sovereign wealth fund signed into law. But another nation's government is taking a very active role in trying to protecting itself from the global economic turmoil. Let's hope Lula invests wisely...

China's Aircraft Carrier Plans

2008-12-25T02:12:00.000-08:00

China has zero and the US has eleven, but China looking to build an aircraft carrier wouldn't exactly ease tensions over Taiwan. Hope you can find some holiday cheer somewhere else this week. Merry Christmas!

Plus Minus

2008-12-23T05:01:00.000-08:00

Brazil did alright this year but growth could slow to half speed next year, the AP reports. Everyone is feeling the crunch and this country is no different.

Cut Happy

2008-12-22T03:45:00.000-08:00

China cut interest rates again, in wake of the record Fed cut. Hopefully this isn't another case of too little, too late. The Hang Seng was off more than 3 percent today.

Can we Party?

2008-11-29T23:04:00.000-08:00

China's economy is slowing, see what the president of the country has to say about it. There's clearly more to it than just numbers, as he indicates steady growth must be maintained to limit social unrest.

Terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

2008-11-26T18:35:00.000-08:00

Attacks in Mumbai at hotels and other sites... thoughts are with them.

Just go to Google News and you can see the latest.

Beijing Tea Party...

2008-11-26T05:15:00.000-08:00

Came across a less than ringing endorsement of the interest rate cut in China. The tone of the NY Times article seems to question if the cut was even needed and would be effective. Scroll to the bottom where it was reported 2,000 people 'watched' another 500 ransack a factory they had just been fired from. Things seem a bit rougher there than what I had gathered from previous reports...

In The Name of Money

2008-11-16T01:46:00.000-08:00

With gas prices falling, so integral to the Russian economy, they're looking to get friendly all over again with the EU. If the EU tries to leave them out of the picture, the Russians may get left behind... and not like being there.

No more fun with PBR?

2008-09-25T07:40:00.000-07:00

Petrobras might get nationalized. Sure Brazil has plenty of poor people to support, but is socialization really the answer?

Watch this!

2008-09-21T08:49:00.000-07:00

Jubak added CMED to his watch list. China Medical Technologies stands to gain from any stimulus the Chinese government might do to keep things moving in their economy. Note that he is just keeping an eye on it, he's been noting in his journal that keeping mostly in cash and waiting on the sidelines is most prudent at this juncture.

Who wants in?

2008-09-14T04:27:00.000-07:00

Hopefully the Brazilian government doesn't want too big of a cut out of the profits from Petrobras, bolstered by another oil find. Word is the president of Brazil wants to get in on the fun, possibly nationalizing the company. No small part of the Brazilian ETF, EWZ, is taken up by PBR.

India being hit hard.

2008-07-13T04:36:00.000-07:00

India is feeling the effects of the trouble with the world economy, as inflation is rising and factory growth slowing. A country that hasn't had any reforms over the past few years might struggle to do so in the near future due to elections.

G(r)8 Debate

2008-07-10T02:42:00.000-07:00

The only country in BRIC, Russia, that's part of the G-8 took part in discussions with the 7 other members recently. A decent supply of food for the world seemed a bigger concern than any woes the economy might be going through. Expanding the G-8 could be in the works. If China is allowed to join then they may be held to higher standards, good for everyone.

FXP for hungry China Bears.

2008-03-23T02:06:00.000-07:00

Jim Jubak, a guy with a great track record over at MSN Money, has written about China and the risk involved. There is a Proshares offering, FXP, that tries to double short the FXI. Check the holdings of FXI so you know what you're getting into. If you're of the opinion that China's market will drop further, give FXP a look.

EWZ It's that Ea (wuh) sy.

2008-02-28T03:41:00.000-08:00

The Brazil EWZ ETF moves with some stocks tracked on that country's market. Should be fun to watch given the recent volatility. Solid analysis of this etf can be found over at SeekingAlpha.com.

Decisions and Taxes.

2008-02-19T18:06:00.000-08:00

A fellow blogger is traveling around India and has some insight into taxes in India. What religion you are influences how much tax you pay! It'll be interesting to see how this plays out as India continues to develop.

The next likely president for Russia has liberal ideas for the economy

2008-02-19T03:27:00.000-08:00

Is this a hint at the opening up of Russia? The man who many think will be the next president of Russia wants to open up the economy more. He wants to possibly shake up the leadership of some state run corporations. Of note is that he realizes how much of a problem corruption is in his country; a true roadblock to the development of the economy there.

Keys to the Brazilian Boom

2008-02-17T15:27:00.000-08:00

An informative article from the Houston Chronicle talks about how the Brazilian economy is being pushed forward by the increasing confidence in banks by it's citizens. A large part of consumer financing is for autos, fueled by a marked increase in car production in 2007.

Will the drop in China ETFs last?

2008-02-17T00:17:00.000-08:00

CNNMoney has an article about what may be in the works for Chinese ETFs. The article hints at the real extent of the damage the weather may have caused to the overall economy. There's also a bit of insight into how the Chinese and American economies are linked. The last sentence of the article in particular grabbed my attention. Nothing like corrupt governments to keep things interesting!