https://www.scmp.com/rss/7138/feed Chris Oliver writes about issues involving technology and business from Hong Kong en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com [Sponsored article] Most Hongkongers tend to rely on the do-it-yourself (DIY) approach when it comes to personal investing such as selecting stocks, bonds and other strategic advice about how to diversify a portfolio. More than 50 per cent of the South China Morning Post online readers questioned in a survey say they tend to form their own impressions about how to structure their investments using information from public forums, such as market gurus’ tips, corporate disclosures and other news on... https://www.scmp.com/presented/business/banking-finance/topics/tackling-market-volatility/article/3198388/standard-chartered-mywealth-help-investors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/presented/business/banking-finance/topics/tackling-market-volatility/article/3198388/standard-chartered-mywealth-help-investors?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Nov 2022 07:00:16 +0000 [Sponsored article] The cryptocurrency market has made global headlines in financial media this year, thanks in part to wild swings in the price of bitcoin. But the relative calm in that space in recent weeks offers an opportunity to take stock of fundamentals not only for bitcoin, but also the universe of alternative coins, or altcoins. According to a senior researcher at a leading crypto-exchange, what lies ahead could be a bullish setup for a range of crypto assets including the time-tested... https://www.scmp.com/presented/tech/topics/morning-studio-decrypts-aax/article/3142651/road-ahead-cryptocurrencies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/presented/tech/topics/morning-studio-decrypts-aax/article/3142651/road-ahead-cryptocurrencies?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jul 2021 07:00:23 +0000 [Sponsored article] It’s not easy to predict the future of cryptocurrency, considering its rapid evolution and constant price shifts. But one crypto-exchange senior executive in Hong Kong foresees today’s vast range of offerings – from pioneering leader bitcoin to alternative cryptocurrencies, or altcoins, such as ethereum – shrinking even as the sector’s total market capitalisation continues to climb dramatically. How could that be possible? Toya Zhang, deputy chief operating officer of AAX,... https://www.scmp.com/presented/business/topics/morning-studio-decrypts/article/3137595/whats-next-crypto?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/presented/business/topics/morning-studio-decrypts/article/3137595/whats-next-crypto?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Jun 2021 04:00:47 +0000 The deepening trade dispute between the United States and China could mark a “turning point in history”, ending the system of global trade that brought low-cost goods to consumers and fuelled the rise of the Chinese mainland and other emerging markets in just a few decades, according to noted economist and author Richard Duncan. Bangkok-based Duncan believes the US$50 billion of Chinese products designated for 25 per cent tariffs by the Trump administration – in addition to a proposed 10 per... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2156751/podcast-deconstructing-trumps-tariffs-turning-point-history-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2156751/podcast-deconstructing-trumps-tariffs-turning-point-history-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Jul 2018 04:39:48 +0000 With global markets struggling for direction after a rocky start to the year, Dr Doom has been conspicuously absent from the conversation. Investment adviser Marc Faber, 72, who adopted the nickname in 1987 after a newspaper column highlighted his contrarian outlook on markets, has had a quiet six months. Faber – a once regular guest on business news shows such as CNBC’s Squawk Box and Bloomberg Television – has faded from view since the publication of his October newsletter The Gloom, Boom &... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/business/article/2144065/it-gloom-or-boom-dr-doom-marc-faber-us-china-trade-war-japan-trap?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/business/article/2144065/it-gloom-or-boom-dr-doom-marc-faber-us-china-trade-war-japan-trap?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 May 2018 23:03:53 +0000 In a city where apartments not much bigger than a car parking space sell for more than US$350,000, one hour of parking on the street sells for just over 99 US cents per hour. Interspaced between Hong Kong’s towering apartment blocks and office buildings, where more than half of the city’s 7 million residents live, on-street parking meters have languished, their hourly rates unchanged for 23 years. For a city where real estate prices have soared like Bitcoin, surging to become the world’s least... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2125996/hong-kong-why-are-parking-spaces-gold-and-parking-dirt-cheap?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2125996/hong-kong-why-are-parking-spaces-gold-and-parking-dirt-cheap?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Dec 2017 08:20:27 +0000 Economist and financial author Richard Duncan believes China’s economy entered into a hard landing in 2015, with the slowdown set to deepen into a slump that will prove to be “severe and protracted”. At its core, a growth model that relied too heavily on investment and exports has left the economy deeply imbalanced, with few drivers that can now take up the slack. Duncan has published a series of videos explaining why, in his opinion, China’s economic development model of export-led and... https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/1960479/chinas-hard-landing-began-last-year-and-its-going-get-worse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/1960479/chinas-hard-landing-began-last-year-and-its-going-get-worse?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 May 2016 22:00:00 +0000 Economist and financial author Richard Duncan has published a stark look at China’s economy as it enters a new phase of slower growth, assessing the implications for a global economy that has become reliant on Chinese demand as a driver. Duncan believes that China’s economic boom ended in 2015 and that a protracted slump lies ahead. He has published a series of videos explaining why, in his opinion, China’s economic development model of export-led and investment-driven growth is now in crisis.... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/1952783/how-credit-fuelled-chinas-incredible-boom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/1952783/how-credit-fuelled-chinas-incredible-boom?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000 Casino scion Lawrence Ho Yau-lung is no stranger to games of chance and, like his father - the former overlord of Macau gaming Stanley Ho Hung-sun - knows that the house always wins. However, as Macau gaming experiences one of its most testing periods ever thanks to the combined effects of President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption crackdown and an economic slowdown on the mainland, Ho junior is making a big move into a gambling venture in a city with a wild-west reputation at least on a par with... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/money-wealth/article/1884807/macau-casino-scion-lawrence-ho-bets-big-venture-vladivostok?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/money-wealth/article/1884807/macau-casino-scion-lawrence-ho-bets-big-venture-vladivostok?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Nov 2015 18:45:15 +0000 As heartaches go, there was a poignant one for gold bugs last weekend. That’s when the Swiss voted down a motion that would have required the nation’s central bank to hold one-fifth of its assets in gold. If the “Save Our Swiss Gold” had been successful, it would have forced the Swiss National Bank into the gold buyer’s camp to the tune of about 60 billion francs (HK$478 billion) at current prices. By some accounts, the central bank would have had to buy 1,500 metric tonnes of gold, or around 11... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/1656928/shinier-days-ahead-despite-swiss-no-vote-gold-reserves?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/1656928/shinier-days-ahead-despite-swiss-no-vote-gold-reserves?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Dec 2014 02:30:02 +0000 It probably seemed like a good idea at the time. If you have trouble finding a buyer for the most expensive apartment ever listed in Hong Kong (on a square foot basis), best not worry, just hang on. One will eventually come along - probably from the mainland. Just give it some time. Or at least that’s how Swire Properties’ management likely sized up the situation back in December when they decided to withdraw from sale an upper floor unit of its luxury Opus apartment tower after bids fell short... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1464831/hk470-million-hong-kong-apartment-just-wont-sell?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1464831/hk470-million-hong-kong-apartment-just-wont-sell?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Apr 2014 11:03:54 +0000 Not much is going on these days at Gresham’s Ltd, the auction house in Ap Lei Chau which garnered a lot of local press coverage during its debut last spring. There are no events slated for this year on the auctioneer’s website. In fact, references to a rare and fine wine sale back in September are said to be “upcoming”. On another page, an interiors sale scheduled for October still dominates the agenda. Meanwhile, the listed contact phone number is disconnected. Emails sent to an “info” address... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1461564/all-quiet-greshams-auction-house-hong-kong-year-after-its-debut?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1461564/all-quiet-greshams-auction-house-hong-kong-year-after-its-debut?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Mar 2014 01:50:54 +0000 Concerns over China’s shadow banking system were back in focus this week, as one local economist raised the alarm over what he described as "disturbing" fund flow data. The issue involves a sharp rise in China’s foreign exchange reserves in recent quarters.  Quarterly data released last week that round out the second half of 2013 show China’s foreign exchange reserves rose by a massive US$323 billion for the six-month period. That compares to relatively modest growth of US$185 billion in the... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/markets-investing/article/1410967/chinas-bulging-forex-reserve-raises-alarm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/money/markets-investing/article/1410967/chinas-bulging-forex-reserve-raises-alarm?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jan 2014 03:25:59 +0000 That’s the question faced by one local Hong Kong resident Thursday who opened her e-mail inbox to find a jaw-dropping offer from a local bank. The bank, who will remain nameless although it’s possible to recognise it among Hang Seng Index constituents, offered to lend the retail client HK$1 million at 1 per cent interest for one year. The offer stipulated that the annualized HK$10,000 interest charge had to be paid upfront in the first month. There were no other strings, or handling charges,... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/money-news/article/1388843/hk-1-million-1pc-apr-should-you-take-challenge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/money/money-news/article/1388843/hk-1-million-1pc-apr-should-you-take-challenge?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Dec 2013 00:37:58 +0000 Analysts writing in an equity strategy note late last week conceded that they were wrong-footed on October 24 when they advised investors to pare back holdings of China-related stocks and raise cash ahead of the third plenum. At the time they said China stocks, up sharply from their June lows, would likely come under pressure as Beijing moved to rein in credit and housing. Political uncertainly was also a contributing factor behind the caution. Nomura’s views were in line with other Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1377526/japanese-bank-nomura-throws-towel-its-bearish-china-outlook?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1377526/japanese-bank-nomura-throws-towel-its-bearish-china-outlook?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:19:24 +0000 For the second year running, Causeway Bay ranks as the world’s most expensive retail hub, outpacing New York’s Fifth Avenue by a widening margin, according to data released by Cushman & Wakefield. Average prime rents in Causeway Bay jumped 14.7 per cent for the year to just above US$3,000 per square foot on an annual basis. The level is a record for the district, and sees Hong Kong extend its lead over Fifth Avenue, where rents were little changed at US$2,500 per sq ft, according to C&W’s survey... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1360237/causeway-bay-rents-continue-outpace-new-yorks-fifth-avenue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1360237/causeway-bay-rents-continue-outpace-new-yorks-fifth-avenue?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Nov 2013 08:47:00 +0000 Preliminary PMI survey data put out by HSBC and Markit showed growth momentum among manufacturers extended its rebound into October, marking the third-straight month of gains, while housing prices in leading cities continued to pick up. But be wary of reading good news into the figures. A few months back concerns had been on slowing momentum and the need for credit loosening. The policy easing that followed helped to fuel a rally in mainland stocks underway since June. Indications that growth... https://www.scmp.com/business/economy/article/1339901/signals-out-beijing-past-week-dont-bode-well-china-stocks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/economy/article/1339901/signals-out-beijing-past-week-dont-bode-well-china-stocks?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Oct 2013 12:54:41 +0000 All eyes have been on Washington debt. In the coming days, it will be China’s turn. Figures soon to be released by the National Audit Office will help cast light on just how much debt China has racked up since Beijing greenlighted a nationwide program of infrastructure construction to prop up the economy during the global crisis. Importantly, the figures will provide a snapshot of the fiscal health of local government financing vehicles (LGFVs). That includes at least 10,000 separate legal... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1334525/after-us-debt-crisis-time-focus-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1334525/after-us-debt-crisis-time-focus-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Oct 2013 08:24:44 +0000 BYD is a curiosity. The firm gets few breaks in brokerage reports: of the analysts who track the company, 15 have "sell" ratings, six are "neutral", while two are a "buy". Meanwhile, the firm's share price is up by a third in the year to date. Usually it's the other way around: brokerages boost a laggard stock that trades flatly. Analysts' reticence is strange, not just because the share price has done so well, BYD is a legitimately exciting concept stock in which Warren Buffett's Berkshire... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/markets-investing/article/1236178/why-analysts-pick-byd?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/money/markets-investing/article/1236178/why-analysts-pick-byd?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong's first Afro-Caribbean bar opened last week, the realisation of more than a year's hard work for a 44-year-old mother of three. Amina Lamarre-Delafoulhouse, who was born in Cameroon, took centre stage at Nzingha Lounge, a 1,800 sq ft basement venue in Peel Street, Central, on Friday. Featuring authentic music and food, and an interior design comprised of wooden furniture, tribal carvings and earth colours inspired by the sub-Sahara region. The venue is intended to showcase African... https://www.scmp.com/article/525754/afro-bar-inspired-paris-dance-clubs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/525754/afro-bar-inspired-paris-dance-clubs?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Nov 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Apply a little Richard Branson-type thinking to the real estate industry and you'd probably end up with a bricks and mortar version of his upstart airline Virgin Atlantic. What would it look like and how would it work? It's not too much of a stretch to say it would resemble the business model of Instant Access Group, a British-based company founded by Bradley Rosser, who admits he stole a page from Mr Branson's book when establishing the company five years ago. Having worked as Mr Branson's... https://www.scmp.com/article/524762/investment-club-gets-bottom-floor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/524762/investment-club-gets-bottom-floor?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Nov 2005 16:00:00 +0000 If you've recently joined the full-time workforce or switched jobs in the past five years brace yourself for some bad news. Today's retirement schemes don't compensate loyal employees anything like the old ones honoured by large corporations. The finding is no surprise for retirement-planning experts, who have known for years the defined contribution schemes - such as those offered under the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) - don't measure up financially when compared to lump-sum payouts under... https://www.scmp.com/article/524750/good-bad-and-mpf?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/524750/good-bad-and-mpf?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Nov 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Alberta-based Redev Properties says those who bought into a Calgary shopping complex 21/2 years ago stand to make a capital gain of 44 per cent if a recent offer for the site is accepted. A vote will be put to stakeholders this week on a bid by a North American real estate investment trust for the 35,880 sq ft Northmount Village shopping mall in northwest Calgary. Investors stand to receive C$72,000 ($471,556) for each C$50,000 originally paid. The project has yielded 7 per cent annually... https://www.scmp.com/article/523785/investors-line-alberta-gain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/523785/investors-line-alberta-gain?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Nov 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Local analysts differ on their views of the new Fed chairman and his commitment to fighting inflation The nomination of Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve Chairman has drawn a mixed reaction among Hong Kong's financial community, with some casting a wary eye on the man who will become de facto chief over local monetary policy. Among the most pointed commentaries circulated last week came from CLSA chief strategist Christopher Wood who welcomed the man about to become the world's most powerful... https://www.scmp.com/article/522745/bernanke-mad-hatter-or-pro?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/522745/bernanke-mad-hatter-or-pro?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Oct 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Goldman Sachs has cautioned inflation may rise sharply next year, particularly in the US, as tight labour markets lay the groundwork for rising wages. The core inflation rate - which excludes volatile food and energy prices - remains contained, they said, but it could rise if higher energy costs eventually feed into other prices and wage demands. Surveys on inflation expectations in the US, Japan and Europe show people are beginning to worry about inflation and its impact on their income. 'We... https://www.scmp.com/article/522746/inflation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/522746/inflation?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Oct 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Are investors sleepwalking towards disaster? Despite the headlines in recent weeks, little attention has focused on how to prepare financially for a bird flu outbreak if it happens. In the face of so much uncertainty, financial advisers admit to a little head scratching over the issue, saying its difficult to know what's right. However, they agree most investors are far too complacent about the impact. Phil Neilson, Hong Kong-based managing director of ING Financial Planning, said he was... https://www.scmp.com/article/521742/dont-put-all-your-eggs-one-basket?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/521742/dont-put-all-your-eggs-one-basket?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Oct 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Big profits to be made as investors snap up apartments in SoHo and Mid-Levels In today's real estate market $2 million doesn't go far but search out buildings dating from the 1950s and 60s and you may be surprised to find reasonable value. Agents in SoHo and Mid-Levels say they have noticed a pickup in interest from both Chinese and western buyers in recent months who are seeking flats in old buildings as investment properties. In most cases that means the building are without parking,... https://www.scmp.com/article/520724/old-turns-gold-market-retro-flats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/520724/old-turns-gold-market-retro-flats?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Oct 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Mortgage holders like to face a jump in monthly charges Data pointing to unexpectedly high inflation in the United States could be the albatross signalling the end of Hong Kong's housing recovery, as local banks raise short-term interest rates in line with a newly vigilant US central bank. Several US Federal Reserve officials last week voiced support for continued increases in official interest rates to quell rising inflation, dashing hopes for a pause after 11 quarter percentage point moves... https://www.scmp.com/article/519671/rising-fed-rates-may-rein-hk-real-estate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/519671/rising-fed-rates-may-rein-hk-real-estate?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Oct 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Fund managers are increasingly confident the pickup in Japan's economy is part of genuine economic revival and not another blip in the country's decade-long bout with recession and deflation. The view was bolstered last week by news that Tokyo land prices recorded their first increases, measured on a six-month basis, since the collapse of the bubble economy in 1989. Higher property prices point to a return of inflation, fund managers say. This could be a catalyst to trigger US$2.9 trillion out... https://www.scmp.com/article/517713/after-long-rest-japan-rising-again?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/517713/after-long-rest-japan-rising-again?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Sep 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong-based fund manager Aaron Boesky can take personal heart in the Wall Street motto 'greed is healthy'. The phrase was coined by his infamous cousin Ivan Boesky, a high-flying New York financier whose fall from grace and subsequent incarceration for insider trading came to symbolise the excess of the 1980s. Filmmaker Oliver Stone is believed to have used a tweaked version of the motto - uttered by Boesky to the graduating class at UC Berkley in May 1986 - for the character of Gordon... https://www.scmp.com/article/513893/boesky-name-lives-post-gordon-gekko-era?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/513893/boesky-name-lives-post-gordon-gekko-era?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Aug 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Rising petrol prices, soaring rents and even surging Sevens tickets all suggest something is up in the local economy. Inflation - a worry that investor's haven't had to consider seriously for decades - is suddenly back and higher prices are set to become part of the landscape for years to come. In June, consumer prices rose 1.2 per cent from the same month a year ago, the highest inflation rate since 1998. Higher prices for rental accommodation and imported mainland food should underpin... https://www.scmp.com/article/512938/time-brace-impact-inflation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/512938/time-brace-impact-inflation?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Aug 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Cheung Kong and Sun Hung Kai Properties 'are dramatically undervalued' Despite all the talk of a bubble, there is still good value to be had in Hong Kong real estate, according to the chief investment officer of a US$6.6 billion real estate investment fund. Ritson Ferguson, managing director of ING Clarion Real Estate, a property investment portfolio operated by ING Real Estate, says he intends to boost investment in Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific region this year. Locally, he likes Sun Hung... https://www.scmp.com/article/512094/property-bubble-not-ready-burst?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/512094/property-bubble-not-ready-burst?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Aug 2005 16:00:00 +0000 A strong rally in Shanghai-listed shares in the past three weeks may be evidence the mainland bourse has turned the corner, some fund managers say. The shift is a dramatic reversal in fortune for a market that twice saw the government intervene to prop up shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in July. Only last month, business columnists said the dismal price action reflected the market's collective unconscious at work, revealing the ill-health of the Chinese corporate sector hit by shrinking... https://www.scmp.com/article/512086/stock-freebies-boost-shares?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/512086/stock-freebies-boost-shares?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Aug 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Medical tourism is not new, but the fast-paced growth in foreign patients is. More people are looking to kill two birds with one stone - having an operation at an eighth of the cost it is at home, with a holiday as well. India introduced a tourism visa last month for foreigners seeking treatment at authorised facilities such as hospitals and ayurvedic centres. It will allow visitors to stay in the country for up to one year to receive medical treatment. If an extension is required, the... https://www.scmp.com/article/511254/going-under-knife-never-looked-better?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/511254/going-under-knife-never-looked-better?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Aug 2005 16:00:00 +0000 There may be more behind the story of mainland vegetable producer Chaoda Modern Agriculture (Holdings) if the buzz among fund managers is an indication. Trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange at just 6.35 times this year's estimated price/earnings, the mainland organic food producer is valued well below its peers despite a compelling business model that has been heralded as 'revolutionary' by Credit Suisse. Most of the mainland's farming land is based on a collectivist model, but Chaoda... https://www.scmp.com/article/510379/chaoda-cream-crop-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/510379/chaoda-cream-crop-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Jul 2005 16:00:00 +0000 After nine years in business, the second-hand vintage shop Flea+Cents is almost as much a novelty as the collection of vintage furniture and home accessories it sells. Since it opened on Wing Fung Street in 1996, the shop has matured into a 1,800 sq ft showroom on Queen's Road East, but it remains very much a low-volume business directed at repeat customers. Aside from its niche market among the professional design community and local collectors, the shop also appeals to international... https://www.scmp.com/article/509455/vintage-concept-finds-niche-appeal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/509455/vintage-concept-finds-niche-appeal?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Jul 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Changes to China's currency regime will set the stage for a potential boom in Hong Kong stock and property markets that appears to mirror the financial conditions that led to the Asian crash of 1997. Instead of fleeing an overvalued Hong Kong dollar, international money flows were soon likely to deluge the city in a bid to bargain hunt assets now devalued against regional currencies, JPMorgan economist Ben Simpfendorfer said. 'Because the [Hong Kong dollar] peg is fixed it means the prices... https://www.scmp.com/article/509456/yuan-revaluation-sets-stage-boom-hk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/509456/yuan-revaluation-sets-stage-boom-hk?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Jul 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Investors will be watching to see who takes over as president when Vladimir Putin's term expires. Continuation of the positive stock market cycle will depend on it Yury Lopatinsky believes Russia will face a turning point when President Vladimir Putin's second term ends in two years. With few successors in line, who will take the reigns of power is a big unknown. While that might not sound encouraging for investors, Mr Lopatinsky, who runs the US$60 million Federation First Mercantile Fund... https://www.scmp.com/article/508618/russia-still-good-bet-until-2007?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/508618/russia-still-good-bet-until-2007?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Jul 2005 16:00:00 +0000 HSBC keeps it simple for Hong Kong investors in a new vehicle with blue-chip pedigree that trades like a normal security and rivals US Treasuries in stability Mention bond investing to the average Hong Kong punter and you are likely to be greeted by a roll of eyes. The stock market has offered better potential returns and there have been few bond-investment vehicles available that provide the easy access and high-quality credit ratings necessary to lure funds out of cash deposits. However, a... https://www.scmp.com/article/507716/bond-fund-attracts-more-2bn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/507716/bond-fund-attracts-more-2bn?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Jul 2005 16:00:00 +0000 The next big thing is really small, with pundits predicting a US$1 trillion global market in nanotechnology in just 10 years. Heralded as the new industrial revolution, the industry today is worth US$100 billion annually in goods and services produced worldwide. Some observers predict the sector will be worth US$800 billion by 2010 and others, such as the American National Science Foundation, believe the global market will be worth US$1 trillion by 2015. These estimates might sound... https://www.scmp.com/article/507709/thinking-small-puts-new-spin-growth-industry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/507709/thinking-small-puts-new-spin-growth-industry?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Jul 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Agricultural commodities, including wheats, grains and related crops such as cotton are set to follow in the footsteps of crude oil, gold, and industrial metals on the long upwards march, say financial advisers. As laggards they rank as one of the few remaining value investments after all the attention given to commodities in recent times, according to financial adviser Marc Faber. 'The grain market is very attractive because worldwide production is going down,' he says. He believes grains... https://www.scmp.com/article/506918/farm-goods-set-follow-footsteps-oil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/506918/farm-goods-set-follow-footsteps-oil?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Jul 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Loading up on commodities can add ballast to a portfolio and help level out the highs and lows There is something unusual about the way commodities have behaved over the past 30 years that could be important to your investment health. Apart from being the dogs of the investment universe for much of that time, they also tend to move in the opposite direction to stocks and bonds. That's important, according to Jerry Webman, senior investment officer with Oppenheimer Funds, because it means that... https://www.scmp.com/article/506005/beans-bolster-financial-health?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/506005/beans-bolster-financial-health?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jun 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Celebrity investor Jim Rogers says the secret to successful investing is a willingness to walk apart from the crowd and anticipate what lies ahead in a world in constant flux. Never much of a trader by his own admission, he says he found success on Wall Street by betting against accepted investment themes and honing a sense of judgment when underlying conditions were set to improve. 'Looking back, I would find things,' he says. He launched the Quantum Fund with George Soros in 1969, (during... https://www.scmp.com/article/506004/dare-be-different-and-win?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/506004/dare-be-different-and-win?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jun 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Has the United States Federal Reserve lost control over interest rates? It seems unthinkable, but that is what may be happening in the US bond market, where the unusual behaviour of interest rates continues to stump the experts, according to Richard Duncan in the revised edition of The Dollar Crisis: Causes, Consequences and Cures. Since the rate-rising cycle began in June last year, the Fed has increased rates by 25 basis points on eight occasions, bringing the target rate to 3 per cent.... https://www.scmp.com/article/505016/whos-charge-us-interest-rates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/505016/whos-charge-us-interest-rates?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Jun 2005 16:00:00 +0000 If a 3,000-square-foot penthouse apartment with ocean views, club amenities and a sub-$1.5 million price tag sounds like science fiction, visit the Hong Kong marketing agent for the Alila development on Penang Island. Buyers who called at the Connaught Road sales office of marketing agents Raine & Horne snapped up 10 penthouse units in the Malaysian development last weekend. Expressions of interest were secured on five more. Marketing manager Anthony Fussell says the response was so strong... https://www.scmp.com/article/504059/rush-penang-sea-views-15m?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/504059/rush-penang-sea-views-15m?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Jun 2005 16:00:00 +0000 It took four days, involved more than 2,000 works of art and the allure of imperial treasures, but when it was all over Christie's spring auction easily entered the record books as the highest-grossing sale of its kind in Asia's history. When the event ended on Wednesday, auctioneers had slammed the gavel on $990.5 million of sales - 41 per cent higher than the forecast of $700 million. 'These sales have set a new record total for any series of auctions in Asia,' said Edward Dolman, chief... https://www.scmp.com/article/503260/9905m-sets-asian-art-sales-record?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/503260/9905m-sets-asian-art-sales-record?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jun 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Hedge funds have been making headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent times, but their finest hour might lie ahead, especially if global markets settle into identifiable trends, according to a senior portfolio adviser. Traditionally viewed as a vehicle to be relied on when seeking fast gains in a high-risk environment, many overlook their utility as a means to reduce risk, says James Leung, portfolio management director at GAM. Data over the past 10 years shows hedge funds on average... https://www.scmp.com/article/503240/hedges-may-be-secure-hiding-places-if-going-gets-tough?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/503240/hedges-may-be-secure-hiding-places-if-going-gets-tough?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jun 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Frustrated that your stock portfolio seems stuck or lacking direction? Best get used to the idea, says Stephan Wrobel, because what's troubling share prices could be around for a while - perhaps another decade, even two. A close associate of commodity guru Jim Rogers and partner in Switzerland-based Diapason Commodities Management, Mr Wrobel sees strong parallels between today and the inflationary period in the United States in the 1970s and 80s, an era that was good for commodity prices but... https://www.scmp.com/article/503241/pendulum-poised-swing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/503241/pendulum-poised-swing?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jun 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Currency head unconvinced by greenback bounce theory when numbers point to Asian bull market The US dollar might have been strengthening against global currencies in recent weeks, but Marino Valensise isn't buying it. Instead, the head of fixed income and currency for Baring Asset Management believes poor fundamentals continue to cloud the greenback, despite the growing chorus of analysts jumping into the dollar-bullish camp. In his view there is little to be gained by trading on the... https://www.scmp.com/article/502366/cloud-fundamentals-over-dollar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/502366/cloud-fundamentals-over-dollar?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 May 2005 16:00:00 +0000 At an epic 10 metres wide, Zhao Wuji's modern masterpiece Juin-Octobre 85 could enter the record books this afternoon as the most expensive Chinese painting ever sold at auction if, as is widely expected, bidding goes beyond $20 million. How the bidding turns out hinges largely on the skill of an elite group of art experts who have been flown into Hong Kong by Christie's auction house. Their assignment is to bang the gavel on 2,200 pieces of Asian art and jewellery over the next four... https://www.scmp.com/article/502438/would-anyone-pay-20m-find-out-today-hks-biggest-auction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/502438/would-anyone-pay-20m-find-out-today-hks-biggest-auction?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 May 2005 16:00:00 +0000