PT Adaro Energy, Indonesia’s no. 2 coal miner (behind PT Bumi Resources Tbk, which by contrast will send 8 million tons to China this year), stated recently that it had already contracted much of its increase sales to China of 3.5 million tons in 2009–up from roughly 2 million tons last year–while reiterating that Chinese demand for overseas thermal coal would remain “robust”.  China imported over 11.5 million tons of Indonesian coal last year–more than a quarter of its total.  Australian coal prices on the globalCOAL Newcastle index, a benchmark for Asia, ended Friday at $74.31/ton, while port coal prices at China’s top coal port Qinhuangdao remain around $92 a ton.  “As long as there is a difference between domestic and import prices, China will still be buying coal from overseas,” commented Apimuk Taifayongvichit, chief marketing and logistics planner at PT Indo Tambangraya Megah, the Indonesian unit of

...

Top Stories     

Businesses worry U.S. money to bring rules, regulations Companies in the U.S. are concerned that the government’s push for improved accountability and transparency in stimulus spending will bring with it additional rules and regulations, a study by auditing and consulting firm Deloitte found. Of the executives responding, 58% said they do not think it is possible to make a link between stimulus spending improved transparency. Reuters (20 Apr.)

Watchdog: Chrysler rejected loan to dodge executive-pay rules: The U.S. Treasury’s special inspector general for the bailout of Chrysler and General Motors said Chrysler Financial, which loans to Chrysler dealers and car buyers, turned down a $750 million federal loan to avoid limits on executive pay. Chrysler Financial said in a ...

Major energy companies are lined up to lock deals and land big profits with India’s new nuclear trade. India was out of the global nuclear loop for over 30 years, until now.

Jason Simpkins of Money Morning says that “…some analysts estimate that India’s nuclear energy sector could be worth as much as $200 billion.”

Here he shows us what majors are lined up for the deal:

India launched its first nuclear test in 1974, but the country refused to sign the global Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). As a result, the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) banned India from global nuclear trade.

That ban was lifted last September when Washington pushed through a “waiver” that freed India from 34 years of sanctions.

Critics of the deal worry that by lifting the trade

...

It appears everyone and their dogs are Keynesians now. They believe the only hope for turning around the global economy is lots of government spending and quick. Spend, spend, and borrow even more, they say.

There’s a frenzy of calls for governments to give handouts to taxpayers and to spend up large to support consumption in slowing or recessed economies. The biggest poster boys for this approach are UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, US President Barack Obama and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

The US Congress is expected to sign off on a pared-down US$780 billion plan this week. It doesn’t have everything Obama wanted, but most of it. Last week Rudd announced a A$42 billion package of spending, including a A$950 cheque for most adults by March.

Then last week our Prime Minister John Key appeared to announce a damp squib of a package aimed at small business. It was “only” costing

…

In 1971 a nuclear physicist Ralph Lapp used the phrase “China Syndrome” to describe what might happen in an extreme example of a nuclear power plant meltdown. His theory was that the molten core of the reactor might be so hot and toxic that it would burn through the floor of the power plant and sink through the earth’s crust before exiting the other side of the earth through China.

This has never happened in the various nuclear accidents, but it’s a powerful idea that spawned the 1979 movie called The China Syndrome, which was released just 12 days before an accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania.

I only mention it because the idea captures quite nicely the potential economic impact here of a Chinese economic slump. New Zealanders underestimate the impact of Chinese economic boom on the global economy generally and on our own economy.

...

Not much. The world keeps turning. And the world economy keeps falling apart. Here in Australia, shares of port and rail outfit Asciano (AIO) fell off the table after a Citigroup analyst changed his valuation of the company and moved it from “buy” to “sell.” Asciano is down 93% from its all time high and was down nearly 60% yesterday before going into a trading halt.

Asciano has $4 billion debt on the books (much of it inherited from when the company was spun from Toll in 2007). But yesterday the company assured investors it wouldn’t be beefing up the equity on the balance sheet with another dilutive capital raising. And chairman Tim Poole told investors earnings were in line with forecasts.

The trouble is that with all that debt and, shall we say, challenging business conditions, investors aren’t convinced the equity in the company is worth anything anymore. This

...

Here’s a picture of a crucial period in our history.  

The nation is at an unfortunate but not completely unusual political and economic crossroads. New Zealand is having a financial crisis at the same time as an election campaign. Big decisions that affect all New Zealanders for a long time will have to be made in the heat and smoke of an election campaign while it is unclear exactly who is in charge.

The protagonists are a Prime Minister who has ruled the machinery of government with a velvet gloved fist for nine years and a popular newcomer who is widely expected to win. The Prime Minister’s attacks on the newcomer have become vituperative and personal. The Prime Minister has successfully bullied and corralled the ruling party and the mandarins in the bureaucracy into accepting the Prime Minister’s views. The Prime Minister appears to be personally driving economic and financial policy.

...

Good day...And what a day it was! As I stated in yesterday's Pfennig, Columbus day is just sort of a holiday for the markets. These 'semi-holidays' can create some volatile trading, as not all of the markets are open and many desks are short staffed. So with the Federal Reserve and the banking system closed, the equity markets had the largest one day gain in over seven decades.