The King Report
M. Ramsey King Securities, Inc.
Wednesday Dec. 1, 2004 – Issue 3048 "Independent View of the News"
Fortune Magazine, like many other pundits and fin media types, avers that the declining dollar is good for US exporters. As we stated in yesterday’s missive, this nonsense has been spewed for over three decades. The dollar was worth 357 yen at the end of 1971. The decline to the current Y102.77, let alone the drop to 80 in 1995, did little to rectify the US trade problem. We distinctly recall Lee Iacocca, then Ford’s CEO, screaming in the mid-‘80s, ‘Give me a 150 yen and I can compete with the Japanese automakers.’ Not too long after Lee’s bluster the dollar fell to 120. And how did that work out for Ford?
The three decade plus dollar decline versus Japan and other first world currencies has been accompanied by steady erosion in the US trade position. You’d think that three decades of data would be enough to dispel the conventional wisdom that the US, or any nation, can devaluate its way to prosperity.
When the dollar hits the alarm phase of a decline, which is usually about two-three years into a pronounced decline, there are always those that try to mitigate the extent of the dollar’s decline by comparing the dollar’s plight to some other country’s plight and declining currency. Sure, versus the peso, the dollar looks great. So what?
Prior to the open, more negative Wal-Mart news chilled the markets and thwarted the expected rally for month end. The China Business Weekly’s Jiang Jingjing reports, "Wal-Mart’s China inventory to hit US$18B this year - The world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, says its inventory of stock produced in China is expected to hit US$18 billion this year, keeping the annual growth rate of over 20 per cent consistent over two years." http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/e…-11/29/content_395728.htm
Yesterday Merrill said people are too optimistic about Intel’s prospects. Intel’s mid-quarter update is due after today’s close, so operators and investors figure Merrill knows something. We mentioned last week that DRAM prices had declined below their August low. Spot DRAM prices fell 16% in November. But as we keep harping, investors and operators have been eschewing fundamentals and adhering to technical/seasonal trading…PS – Several brokers and pundits promoted Intel before Merrill’s warning, saying they expect Intel to raise their estimates in the update. What are these people looking at?
All one needs to know about yesterday’s GDP figure is that according to US government economic statisticians, the US in Q3 had the lowest core inflation since the ‘60s. Core personal consumption expenditures are listed at +0.7%. This is so absurd, it defies comment. Yet many on The Street will not only swallow this pap, they will make decisions and invest clients’ money on this and similar bogus data.
Just last week, we saw a disturbing chart in Jim Bianco’s research that shows intermediate producer prices, ex-food and energy, at almost +8% y/y are near the all-time high annual ROC (+8.2%)……….
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