Signs of life! See article below — Larry
March 10, 2009 (Platinum Today) — Three members of the emerging BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies have posted encouraging auto sales figures for February, it was revealed yesterday (9th March).
According to the latest data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, the country’s passenger car sales increased by 22 percent on a year-on-year basis during the month.
Although sales of commercial vehicles were down by over 50 per cent, ten of the 13 automakers saw rises, with Maruti Suzuki, the largest manufacturer, posting record sales and export statistics.
The upturn is being largely attributed to the greater access to bank credit following a move by lenders to cut auto loan rates from around 13 percent to ten percent and government tax cuts.
However, companies such as Hyundai Motor India — which reported a 45 percent rise in domestic sales last week — have been eager to play down the significance of the latest figures.
Spokesman Arvind Saxena told the BBC: “The overall market situation continues to be challenging and not much should be read into the February growth.”
Meanwhile, Brazilian national automakers’ association Anfavea revealed yesterday that auto sales in the country were up for the third consecutive month in February, helped by government tax breaks.
Sales of new cars and trucks were up by one percent on a monthly basis to 199,400 units, following previous rises of 1.5 percent and 9.4 per cent, while output was up 9.2 percent from January, to 201,700 units.
The news was also positive in China, where a sales increase was recorded for the first time in four months on the back of government tax cuts and various other incentives for consumers.
According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), sales of passenger cars, buses and trucks in the world’s largest auto market jumped by 25 percent to 827,600 units.
In addition, the figures show that the total has now risen by 2.7 percent to 1.56 million in the first two months of the year, in comparison to a 39 percent slump to 1.35 million vehicles in the US.
Passenger car sales were up by 24 percent during the month to 607,300, while sales of cars with engines of 1.6 litres of under — which recently had their sales tax slashed in half by the government — rose by 19 percent over January and February.
The increases are also being attributed to the wider $585 billion stimulus plan issued in Beijing and a subsidization initiative aimed at encouraging people in rural areas to purchase new cars.
“Consumers are regaining confidence because of the government’s stimulus policies,” Ricon Xia, an analyst at Daiwa Research Institute in Shanghai, told Bloomberg.
As a result of the positive mood, General Motors has doubled its Chinese market growth forecast for 2009 and Xiong Chuanlin, Vice-President of the CAAM, believes March will bring even stronger figures, according to Bloomberg.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Larry
Thanks for the first edition of Common Wisdom. A stock rally coming. It looks a better than even bet. Should you not gate crash Martin’s million dollar bear market investment before Claus puts some of that cash into Reverse tracker ETFs on the Dow and S&P?
And then get hold of Mr Crooks, the Dollar bull, and convince him of the likely fall in the USD.
It seems to me half of the Weiss experts are about the short the stock market and the Euro and the other half are going long of the stock market and shorting the Dollar.
“Two men think they’re Jesus. One of them must be wrong” - Dire Straits
regards Ian Shearer,
London.
Larry Edelson Reply:
March 19th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Thanks for the comments Ian. Different opinions makes the world go round!
Dear Larry,
The article which you wrote on “Scamalot: The Worst Con Jobs Are Yet To Come” , was very insightful.
Thank you for sharing it. The community needs to be made aware of what is happening around them.
I work in the area of Liitigation, and I often weep (deep inside) after hearing a victim’s account of the impact of an offence against them.
An individual’s trusting nature (hope for better things to come…just around the corner), often opens them up to a chain of events which they cannot stop, and their life as well as the lives of their families are thrown into a downward spiral of devastation.
Larry Edelson Reply:
March 25th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Thank you Sarah. It is truly amazing. Keep up the great work!
Larry,
If the dollar is to go down and the IMF is going to sell its gold which is likely to bring the price of gold down… especially for those of us that already hold it in our portfolios… where do we go from here?. Would you still advise to hold Gold for now…
Larry Edelson Reply:
April 8th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Long-term core gold holdings, yes, hold! Do note: The IMF sales were already scheduled. They have moved them up, and more importantly, guess who’s buying the gold from the IMF? Central banks!
Larry,
The week before last you indicated that the cycles were calling for a major rally to begin last Tuesday. As you know, the markets have done just the oppposite since that date. Are the cycles wrong and has the top in stocks and commodoties already come and gone?
Regards,
Bob
Larry Edelson Reply:
July 14th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Too soon to say. The cycles were calling for a short-term decline. Admittedly, it’s a steeper decline than expected. But it does not yet rule out a resumption of a rally.
Hi Larry,
When it comes to “Uncommon Wisdom” , you guys give the title a real meaning.
When you talk about gold you have my complete and undivided attention.
It’s because of my focus, I noticed that beside the recommendations of GLD
and the purchase of the metal itself, there appears to be an absents to mention
GDX as in the past. Can you give me some words of wisdom? ( pardon the pun).
Larry Edelson Reply:
July 14th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
We’ve recommended GDX from time to time. It’s a great ETF to trade/invest in gold shares.
The last newsletter said to sell gold for a short term decline. Gold prices went down for two days and now is back up to 955. What to do now?
Larry Edelson Reply:
August 5th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Hold the hedge per my instructions using the stop on the DGZ.