Michael Pettis, professor of finance at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management and author of the China Financial Markets blog, has just been interviewed by the Geoff Dyer, FT’s Beijing Bureau Chief on a number of China-related issues. The three-part interview is not only topical, but also excellent viewing material.

Part 1:

Pettis discusses where China may diversify its foreign exchange reserves and whether the renminbi will become the global reserve currency.

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

Part 2:

Pettis discusses the lessons other countries can learn from China’s growth model and its handling of the financial crisis.

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

...

AutoChina International Ltd., formerly Spring Creek Acquisition Corp., provides commercial auto sales and financing in China. The company today announced the appointment of Jason Wang as the company’s new CFO, effective immediately.

With more than 10 years of experience in finance, capital markets and company expansion, Wang will head AutoChina’s overall financial planning and control, as well as China and U.S. GAAP compliance, SEC filings, investor relations, M&A activities, and general corporate financial responsibilities.

“We expect Jason’s leadership and financial acumen will be a great asset to our company and add increasing depth and diverse skills to our corporate finance team. Jason’s familiarity with our operations as an investor, combined with his capital markets expertise, should make for a smooth transition. We also look forward to Johnson Lau’s continuing contributions as his background in accounting and financial reporting will continue to serve AutoChina well throughout our expected growth in the

...

Water is essential for life. It’s quite literally an investment that you can’t live without. And while you might not be able to trade water futures on the Chicago Board of Trade, providing people with H2O is a $400 billion global industry, according to an article by Harvard’s Garry Emmons.

“In an age of global water scarcity, with governments scrambling to create new water systems or repair deteriorating ones, there is money in water,” he says. And Emmons isn’t the only expert who thinks water is soon to be a very valuable commodity. “Water is going to be more important than oil in the next 20 years,” predicted Dipak Jain, dean of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, to Bloomberg.

That’s thanks in large part to your local water utility. While cities and municipalities run 85% of water utilities, there are scores of for-profit companies left over to turn water

...

The UpTurn Inc. is developing an innovative online real estate matchmaking exchange where residential real estate market participants are matched with each other based on their individual profiles and intended roles in the market. The UpTurn intends to serve all participants in the residential real estate industry.

The company is led by a very strong management team with a broad range of experience. The UpTurn’s management team includes:

Jeffrey M. Eckman, CEO – Mr. Eckman founded Blue Green Ventures in 2008 and has over 15 years of leadership experience in the technology, media, and healthcare industries. His background includes a mix of operational, business development, and consulting practice from his work with various firms.

Mr. Eckman holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Prior to starting Blue Green Ventures, he worked for several Fortune 500 companies including Viacom and Wyeth, as well

...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - May 29, 2009 - Zacks Equity Research highlights DeVry, Inc. (DV) as the Bull of the Day and Autoliv, Inc. (ALV) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Macy's (M), J.C. Penney (JCP) and Wal-Mart (WMT).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2676.

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

DeVry, Inc. (DV) is a provider of post-secondary education in North America. The company is the holding company for DeVry University (including the Keller Graduate School of Management), Ross University, Chamberlain College of Nursing, Becker Professional Review and Advanced Academics.

Management continues to execute well with the company reporting positive enrollment trends since its turnaround in fiscal 2006. In addition, management is

...

DeVry, Inc. (DV) is a provider of post-secondary education in North America. The company is the holding company for DeVry University (including the Keller Graduate School of Management), Ross University, Chamberlain College of Nursing, Becker Professional Review and Advanced Academics.

Management continues to execute well with the company reporting positive enrollment trends since its turnaround in fiscal 2006. In addition, management is executing a five year strategic plan that focuses on four growth priorities in order to drive growth while maintaining the company's financial strength.

Finally, the ongoing real estate optimization strategy and incremental acquisitions are adding to the company's earnings potential. Therefore, the Buy rating is maintained. Zacks Investment Research

I am urging you all to buy (Public, NYSE:FAZ) yet again at these low levels. The bears are coming out hungry, and are set to have an all-you-can-dine feast on these financial crooks.

Read this article I stumbled upon, it proves even Forbes believes these stress tests are simply a distraction.

The worst-kept secret in Washington and on Wall Street is upon us–the release of the government’s bank stress test results Thursday. Regardless of the outcome, their job is already done.

The tortured process amounts to nothing more than a huge–and purposeful–distraction, diverting attention from the government’s behind-the-scenes efforts to help banks earn their way out of trouble through old fashioned profit-taking on ever-widening interest rate spreads.

It’s just “stall tactics,” says Simon Johnson, an economics professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Regulators’ “whole strategy is ‘wait and see,’ to

...

As the financial markets await the bank stress test results in the US, a potpourri of video clips was produced. Although the discussions were varied, a golden thread prevailed: the duration of the financial crisis and the economic recession, and whether stock markets have hit bottom.

Needless to say, the plight of the beleaguered automakers and fears of an escalation in the number of swine flu cases also captured the attention of battle-weary investors. However, the S&P 500 Index rallied to a gain of 9.4% for April - representing its best monthly advance since March 2000 - and US Treasury yields jumped to levels last seen in November as investors “looked past the valley”.

Commentators featured on camera in this post include Simon Johnson, Michael Perino, Jim Walker, Steve Forbes, Christopher Whalen, Joseph Stiglitz, Marc Faber, Bill Ackman, Paul Kasriel, James Galbraith, Paul

...

“The crash has laid bare many unpleasant truths about the United States. One of the most alarming is that the finance industry has effectively captured our government”, says Simon Johnson, a chief economist with the International Monetary Fund in 2007 and 2008. In an article entitled “The Quiet Coup” in the May, 2009 issue of the Atlantic magazine he (with James Kwak) goes on to say that “if the IMF’s staff could speak freely about the U.S., it would tell us what it tells all countries in this situation: recovery will fail unless we break the financial oligarchy that is blocking essential reform and if we are to prevent a true depression, we’re running out of time”.

America is in financial crisis but instead of the financial oligarchy being broken up to permit essential reform they are continuing to use their influence to prevent precisely the sorts of reforms that are …

Headquartered in Oakbrook Terrace, IL, DeVry, Inc. (DV) is a provider of post-secondary education in North America. The company is the holding company for DeVry University (including the Keller Graduate School of Management), Ross University, Chamberlain College of Nursing, Becker Professional Review and Advanced Academics.

Management continues to execute well with the company reporting positive enrollment trends since its turnaround in fiscal 2006. In addition, management is executing a 5-year strategic plan that focuses on 4 growth priorities in order to drive growth while maintaining the company's financial strength.

Finally, the ongoing real estate optimization strategy and incremental acquisitions are adding to the company's earnings potential. Therefore, the Buy rating is maintained. Zacks Investment Research