22.06.2012 - Chart of the day - 2012 DEBT TO GDP OF PIIGS & Select Countries

Totally forgot to post this.

Well here it is now

SOURCE:
http://www.chartoftheday.com/20120622.htm?T

GERMANY'S TRADE SURPLUS AND THE INTRODUCTION OF THE EURO

I have been meaning to repost this from the Sudden debt blog by Hellasious.

It's a post that really makes you look at Eurozone crisis in a different light.
Despite all the PIIGS bashing going on, we often forget that German Exports did benefit greatly from the shift to the Euro!

Sudden Debt: One Picture Is Worth A Thousand Marks (or Merkels)...: Given what is going on in the eurozone at the moment, it is worth it to point out that the biggest beneficiary of the euro is Germany itse................

""""""A full 41% of Germany's surplus comes from France, Italy, Spain and (gasp!) Greece, where Germany is still exporting like gangbusters despite the poor country being in its fifth year of recession.  In fact, Germany's trade surplus per person with Greece is 3.6 times bigger than that with the U.S. (290 euro per Greek versus 81 euro per American)."""""""""

EURO ZONE DEBT CRISIS -ANY SOLUTION YET?

I guess not!

Here's an excellent cartoon by "KAL :  THE ECONOMIST : LONDON ENGLAND"

It came out around the time of the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament
It is titled....."DEUCE | Meanwhile, in the Euro Zone"

SOURCE:
https://www.nytsyn.com/cartoons/cartoons?start_date=1901-01-01&search_id=74680&page=2#783810

http://www.kaltoons.com/
Kevin Kallaugher (KAL) is the editorial cartoonist for The Economist magazine of London.
For all those who may not have heard of him, he is the artist behind the famous BUY SELL Cartoon 
http://www.kaltoons.com/wordpress/portfolio/?album=1&gallery=6

Along with INGRAM PINN of the FT, he is one of the legends of the world of Financial and Political Cartoons.

Indian Banking - Cases of Debt Recasts and NPAs

Here is a Newspaper Article on  "Rising cases of debt recasts & NPAs" by Abhijit Lele & Ranju Sarkar, from the Business Standard Newspaper in Mumbai.

Link:
Rising cases of debt recasts & NPAs ( check out the graphics pdf for charts and more info)
I've also attached adcanned copy of the article below

As some over leveraged companies work their way out of some rather sticky situations, it's another reminder to investors to check exactly how leveraged some of the companies they invest in really are.

High interest rates in India coupled with the reluctance of the inflation battling "Reserve Bank of India", the country's Central bank to lower interest rates; will mean that we could be in for some more restructuring of NPAs going forward.

INDIAN EQUITIES - LOOKING BACK AT 2011

Here are some articles from last year that I think are worth a read.

Indian Equities have been faced with a toxic combination of Policy inaction, high interest rates, a very weak Indian Rupee and waves of instability from western markets, primarily the EU.

The articles below provide some interesting views on the Outlook for 2011. Mukul Pal's contrarian outlook, highlights the point that beaten down sectors that have been written off by Mr. Market could surprise us in 2012!

INDIAN RUPEE : FOREX FLUCTUATION & INDIAN POLICY REFORMS

Here is a good article from today's Business Standard Newspaper in Mumbai.
Rupee fall pares India Inc's profit by a fourth in Q2

If the weakness in the INR continues, upcoming FCCB redemptions, USD denominated foreign Currency borrowings and the rising cost of imported raw materials will continue to add to the woes of Indian Corporates in the results of the third quarter.

Many blame the INR weakness on FII selling in the Indian Equity markets.
While FII selling has played its part, I feel the ongoing Government policy malaise and concerns over the Government's Fiscal Deficit continue to weigh down the INR.
Currency downgrades by the Rating Agencies will add to the downward pressure on the INR.

Also, it's about time that the Indian Government gets down to implementing many long delayed reforms.

Some sectors in dire need of reforms
POWER SECTOR - Poor financial health of State Electricity Boards (SEBs) is forcing them to resort to  load shedding of power even as Power producers are left with surplus power that they are unable to sell. These SEB's must move towards a market determined pricing of power sold by them to distribution companies.
Merchant Power sales and Power trading are also facing many unresolved policy issues.
Under construction Ultra Mega Power Projects also face uncertainities due to fuel linkages (read: Coal allocation issues and royalty issues on Coal imported from Indonesia).
.
MINING SECTOR - Confusion over a proposed Mining Tax, profit sharing with locals displaced by Mining projects, Land acquisition delays and mining scams and corruption have delayed many Mining & Smelter projects.
.
FERTILIZER SECTOR - Partial implementation of the Nutrient Based Subsidy Scheme (NBS) and the delays in decontrol of Urea pricing have compounded the problems of the sector. Heavily subsidised Urea fertilizer has resulted in farmers opting to use Urea over DAP fertilizer. Excessive use of Urea has upset the balance of soil nutrients and has thus resulted in lower crop yields.
Any further delay in decontrolling Urea fertilizer pricing will add to government subsidies as the government continues to import Urea shortfall from overseas. A weak INR will add to the cost of imported Urea fertilizer.
.
TELECOM SECTOR - The ongoing 2G scandal and corruption cases continue to dominate news in the telecom sector. What the government must take a look at is reforming regulations that will promote consolidation in the Telecom sector. Recent issues of 3G roaming should also be clarified by the TRAI and the government, to avoid any further uncertainty in this sector.
.
AVIATION SECTOR - A combination of ''below cost '' fares by Air India,  record high ATF prices, ultra competitive air ticket prices, and record high debt of the airlines themselves has resulted in some serious structural problems in the Indian Aviation sector. FDI limits in Indian Aviation will have to be liberalised and a more viable tax structure on ATF will have to be worked out, if the existing carriers are to survive as going concerns. Perhaps the government will have to look at the development of "Low cost airports'' from which the Low Cost Carriers can operate, given the expensive Landing and Parking Costs at the country's main airports.
.
OIL SECTOR - Massive delays in implementation of a clear and viable Gas Pricing policy is delaying further development of Oil and Gas Blocks in the KG Basin. Until this vital issue is resolved, Fuel Linkage issues of Power & Fertilizer Plants will not be resolved. The longer it takes for this Gas to reach the market, the more will be the delays of construction of new Power and Fertilizer Plants.
Also the" retail fuel pricing - under recovery problem" of the Oil Marketing companies (OMCs) remains unresolved. Massive subsidies on retail fuels sold by the OMCs have weakened their finances over the last decade.
A weak INR+ high Crude Oil price is adding to the under recovery burden of the OMCs.
If the government fails to move to a market determined pricing mechanism for Retail fuels soon, these OMCs will soon need to be bailed out by the government.
.
All in all, it's about time that the government takes a step forward, and gets downto resolving these 'bottle neck' issues that are plaguing the Indian Economy at the moment.

If some of the supply side issues are worked upon, then perhaps the subsequent drop in inflation and an improvement in the government's fiscal deficit targets, will help the INR to regain some lost ground.

MARKET UPDATE: THESE ARE CRAZY DAYS

Just a quick post today before I put up some detailed analysis soon.

There's so much happening in markets these days - Debt Ceiling, US AAA downgrade, Equity Market crashes, a really manic VIX (Volatility S&P500 ^VIX), UK Riots and all the ongoing discussion of the ''fragile'' global economic recovery!!

Below is a snapshot of todays wildly gyrating markets! For the ''goldbugs'' out there, Gold has been riding high, driven upwards by all the uncertainty & it is overbought in the near term!

The FED has signalled that it wishes to keep rates at record lows well into 2013!----the recovery must be more fragile than they first thought.

Overall, I would refrain from any risk taking at the moment and would look to hedge gold positions. In the medium term, I expect gold to continue to be volatile in a price range of $1550 to $1780(New all time high as of today).

Will come back with some market specific ideas soon.

U.S. Federal Government Debt - Total Public Debt

Take a look at the graph below.

Up until the year 2000, the total public debt was less than $6Trillion (yes that's TRILLION!!!).

Look at the rate at which it accelerates from the year 2000. The year 2005 onwards and subsequently post the Lehman crisis, the graph just spiked upwards.

In 10 years time, the total public debt has doubled to just over $12 Trillion.

As the world rushes into the safety of the USD, and everyone is busy criticizing the 'PIIGS' nations and the EURO as a flawed currency, it's time that we take a closer look at the debt situation in the US.

With interest rates at record lows, the U.S. continues to add onto its debt burden.

The GSEs are still bleeding, and the FED continues to add more MBS to its Balance Sheet.

Accumulating and refinancing debt may not be an issue in the short run, but over the longer run debt servicing issues are going to resurface and the market will demand a higher rate of interest on US Government debt.

Watch this space!