The following was just printed in South China Morning Post on 27th Feb.2008.
China
reported that inflation had risen to 7.1 per cent last month, an
11-year high, and the US reported annualised inflation of 4.3 per cent,
a 16-year high. At the same time, the US Federal Reserve lowered its
2008 growth forecast by half a percentage point to between 1.3 per cent
and 2 per cent. The chances are that the US is already in recession.
The European Commission has just cut its 2008 euro-zone growth forecast
by 0.4 percentage points to 1.8 per cent and raised the inflation
forecast by half a percentage point, to 2.6 per cent. The US seems to
be entering stagflation - inflation with little or no growth. The euro
zone is not far behind.
The emerging
economies, with bulging foreign exchange reserves, continue to grow
vigorously on investment expenditure. Nevertheless, their growth rate
could fall to 6.9 per cent this year, compared with 7.8 per cent last
year and 7.7 per cent in 2006, according to the International Monetary
Fund. Their inflation rate has averaged 3.5 per cent since 2003 but is
likely to pass 4.5 per cent this year, I believe, despite their
appreciating currencies. They are not in stagflation, but they are
heading that way.
It feels like the
1970s: economies weakening, inflation accelerating, the US dollar
tumbling and oil prices surging. Most prominent economists abhor the
comparison. The arguments against it are that, first, oil is a smaller
part of the economy today and, second, that central banks have learned
not to accommodate inflation. I hope so, but I am not convinced.
Central banks are putting growth above inflation in their policy
priorities. They hope they will have the time to deal with inflation
when economies recover. Down this slippery path, central banks may get
trapped; economies may take time to recover, which forces them to
tolerate inflation for longer and longer. The end could be similar to
that in the 1970s, when only a severe recession could cure inflation.
Even though central banks know more now than three decades ago, they
may still be heading down the same path.
Indeed,
central banks laid the foundations for today's stagflation. They feared
deflation five years ago and flooded the financial system with
liquidity. That triggered massive inflation in asset markets, which in
turn stimulated demand. For some time, the world economy looked
perfect: high growth and low inflation. But the asset bubbles are
deflating, one by one. The US property bubble was first, the credit
market next, then the global equity market and now the bond market. The
commodity market is the last bubble. The money that has survived other
markets is pouring into commodities, causing more inflation. It is
likely that all the excess liquidity central banks have released will
turn into inflation through the commodity market.
All
of today's woes have been caused by too much money being released by
central banks. Yet they propose to alleviate the pain by releasing more
money. Somehow, it doesn't sound right. The flaw of modern economics is
its knee-jerk response to economic weakness: loosening the money
supply. Normally, inflation tends to decline when the economy weakens.
The current cycle is different: money mainly fuelled asset inflation
during the boom, and the inflationary effect of this big money stock
was delayed. Throwing more money at economic weakness only makes
inflation worse.
The Fed knows there is a
risk that inflation will spiral out of control and is trying to anchor
inflation expectations through talk. It is spreading the message that
it will increase interest rates rapidly as soon as the US economy
stabilises - that is, it promises not to inflate away your money. It
takes a brave man to hold the depreciating US dollar on the Fed's word.
The promise may not be credible. The US economy is suffering from
overspending. Demand stimulus slows the necessary adjustment of cutting
consumption and increasing savings. Any Fed tightening, when the
economy stabilises, will push it back into recession. If those holding
US dollars know this, and sell now, US inflation will spiral out of
control.
China is in a tight spot. The US
is in a much better position to tolerate inflation. Foreigners hold
over US$14 trillion of America's financial assets, about 100 per cent
of its gross domestic product. Inflating away paper assets is a net
positive for the US economy. Moreover, America's low-income group is
more indebted, and inflating away debt benefits most Americans. China
is a net creditor, as reflected in its US$1.5 trillion foreign exchange
reserves. Low-income earners in China are net savers. Inflation
decreases the purchasing power of low-income earners and decreases the
value of their savings. Inflation may be politically popular in the US
but is certainly destabilising in China.
China
and the US both face inflation this year, but they will take different
approaches to deal with it. China will maintain a tight monetary policy
to contain inflation, while the US will loosen monetary policy to
stimulate demand. The yuan is obviously an appreciating asset in such a
macro scenario. To stop the currency from overshooting, China has to
tightly control capital inflows.
Hong
Kong faces significant difficulties. Its economy depends on capital
market activity. The global bear market will shut down the Hong Kong
growth engine. Mainland China's tightening capital controls will only
make it worse. At the same time, imported inflation is eroding the
purchasing power of Hong Kong's middle class; the city faces a high
risk of recession this year.
Commodities
are the last bubble. More and more financial types will get into this
market. The commodity bubble may become the biggest in history over the
next two years. It will burst when central banks accept a recession as
a necessary cost for beating inflation. That may happen late next year
or early in 2010. You can still enjoy the glow of the commodity market.
Buy gold, platinum or silver; anything physical. Just don't hold it for
too long.
来自谢国忠搜狐博客 http://xieguozhong.blog.sohu.com/