Further to my “Shanghai cracks” post of yesterday, a Bloomberg interview with Andy Xie provides additional insight. Xie is a highly regarded analyst based in Hong Kong and a former Morgan Stanley chief Asian economist.

Also read Xie’s thought-provoking article of a month ago, “Famed market analyst says China has “become a giant Ponzi scheme“.

Click here or on the image below to view the clip.

Source: Bloomberg, August 31, 2009.

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - May 28, 2009 - Zacks.com releases the latest Industry Outlook. Today's interview is with senior analyst Ian T. Gilson, who talks about the Consumer Electronics Industry, including Canon (CAJ), Sony (SNE), Panasonic (PC), Apple (AAPL) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) .

A synopsis of today's Industry Outlook is presented below. The full article can be read at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2678.

The major Asian consumer electronics companies have now reported their numbers for the first quarter, and industry data for most of the major areas are available. The results, as expected, are not good, with very few growth areas in dollar terms.

Canon's (CAJ) revenue was down 32% year over year (Y/Y). Sony's (SNE) revenue declined by 22% and Panasonic (PC) was down by 14.5% The weak US dollar

...

The major Asian consumer electronics companies have now reported their numbers for the first quarter, and industry data for most of the major areas are available. The results, as expected, are not good, with very few growth areas in dollar terms.

Canon's (

...

The major Asian consumer electronics companies have now reported their numbers for the first quarter, and industry data for most of the major areas are available. The results, as expected, are not good, with very few growth areas in dollar terms.

Canon's (

...

The major Asian consumer electronics companies have now reported their numbers for the first quarter, and industry data for most of the major areas are available. The results, as expected, are not good, with very few growth areas in dollar terms.Canon's (CAJ) revenue was down 32% year over year (Y/Y). Sony's (SNE) revenue declined by 22% and Panasonic (PC) was down by 14.5% The weak US dollar had a significant impact on results since the US is the largest revenue block in the world (China consumes more units, but prices are much lower). The average US household spent $1,229 on consumer electronics in 2008, a drop of 12.5% from 2007. All consumer electronics companies had a significant decline in gross margins.The cellular phone market is stagnant, except for smartphones. This is a positive for Apple (AAPL), which does not sell low-end ...

The Dow has been on a mini-roll. Therefore, most investors are thrilled to see battered stock portfolios recover even a smidgen of their massive losses. The problem is that these investors aren’t paying attention to what’s happening elsewhere around the globe. And they may be missing out on the opportunity of the decade! That’s because the morsels of good economic news coming out of the U.S. are completely overshadowing what’s happening in Asia. China: A Bright Spot in the Region And the Global Economy Just last week, a new report from the World Bank painted a very pretty picture about the economies of China, the world’s third-biggest economy, and its Asian neighbors …...

Rogers and Roach… Dollar gaps higher!  Ireland’s problems…  Bad data… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Front and Center this morning, I have two quotes from people I truly respect… first from Jimmy Rogers… second from Stephen Roach…

“If I were you, I would be worried about the U.S. dollar,” said Rogers, 66, in a speech at the Asia Financial Forum in Hong Kong today. “The Americans are printing U.S. dollars. The Americans are going to do whatever they can to revive their economy, even if it means destroying the U.S. dollar.”

And at the same Asian Forum… ” Stephen Roach, chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia Ltd., recommended investors buy “anything to do with the Asian consumer, infrastructure, alternative energy and technology.”

Now… these are people that “know better” and not ones that keep telling you that everything will be OK, if we just all come together, right now, over me… No wait, I mean if

...

Because of its rapid economic growth over the last 30 years, it’s easy to forget that China is a communist country. The Chinese, like everybody else, love money. But the Communist party is clearly in control. One of the areas controlled with an iron communist fist is China’s media. The main TV station, China Central Television or CCTV, is owned, operated, and controlled by the government. And unlike the U.S., Chinese government officials can’t spout off their own opinion. Instead, they must speak the ‘company line’ of the ruling Communist Party and carefully choose their words....

Asian Hedge FundsAsian Fund Leverage & Prime Brokerage(http://hedgefundblogger.com) It seems that many Asian-based hedge funds have dodged a few bullets by not being tied as closely to Bear or Lehman... that combined with traditionally using less leverage than some other funds might have helped a few Asian hedge funds weather this storm. By a few I mean very few - recent data suggests that Asian funds are down more than their peers over the last few months. Below is an excerpt on how some Asian funds have dodged the prime brokerage woes of US and UK based groups:________________________ASIAN hedge funds are relatively shielded from the distress that their counterparts in developed markets are weathering, thanks to their use of 'far less' leverage, said UBS head of prime services (Asia Pacific) David Gray.'Our clients have been ...

-- As rumored, the world's central banks have announced a coordinated rate cut to try to juice up the frozen credit markets. The Fed has cut its key lending rate by a half point to 1.5%. The European Central Bank trimmed cut its key rate to 3.75% from 4.25%. The Bank of England cut its key rate to 4.5% from 5%.

-- According to a  joint statement by the participating banks, "inflationary pressures have started to moderate in a number of countries, partly reflecting a marked decline in energy and other commodity prices," while "the recent intensification of the financial crisis has augmented the downside risks to growth and thus has diminished further the upside risks to price stability."