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Walmart and the tax refunds

T99

Well-known member
Just heard this on the national news: Walmart is getting ready to announce a new "no interest for 18 months Walmart credit card" to coincide with the stimulus package that passed in the House today. They also plan to drop prices as much as 30% on food and on electronic items that didn't sell well at xmas. Looks like we can all give China's economy a good boost now!
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
T99 said:
Just heard this on the national news: Walmart is getting ready to announce a new "no interest for 18 months Walmart credit card" to coincide with the stimulus package that passed in the House today. They also plan to drop prices as much as 30% on food and on electronic items that didn't sell well at xmas. Looks like we can all give China's economy a good boost now!

FITS :roll: :( :( :mad: :mad: Thats all that a lot of people need to do is go further in debt....

Reprinted from MoneyNews.com
U.S. Recession A ‘Win-Win’ for China?


Monday, Jan. 28, 2008 1:10 p.m. EST


A U.S. recession may actually help rather than hurt China’s economy, according to a senior Chinese government researcher.

A slowdown in U.S. consumption might not necessarily lead to the reduction of its imports from China, says Mei Xinyu, at the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

As an added bonus, a slowdown is likely to make U.S. technological imports to China cheaper, fostering development of the Asian giant.

"We will be able to transform the economic crisis of a developed country into an opportunity for the development of China,” Mei predicted in a government report.

Mei figures that a U.S. recession will stimulates demand for cheap imports – China’s export strength.

Because cheap commodities still make up most of China’s exports to developed countries, recessions in those countries are more likely to increase sales of Chinese imports rather than to diminish them.

As evidence, Mei offers the fact that China’s exports to the U.S. have been rising continuously even though U.S. economic development began to slow in the last half of 2000.

He notes as well that when developed countries boom they generally charge higher prices for the technology they export.

But, when reduced domestic sales create recession, developed countries tend to loosen export controls and sell equipment for less. In that way, a U.S. recession will give China a chance to import U.S. technology more cheaply.

China will have to adjust its restrictive macroeconomic policies if the economic recession of the U.S. worsens.

But if the yuan continues its accelerated rise, a stronger exchange rate could help fuel China's demand for imports from the rest of the world, which would help offset weakening U.S. growth.

"China's policy in international affairs has been to 'hide its capacities and bide its time’,” Mei says, pointing to China’s growing assertiveness in the World Trade Organization and its push for more voting power in the International Monetary Fund.

"But now, I personally think China also wants to bring its talent into play and get things done."

Recessionary woes also make it easier for China to invest in the U.S., Mei adds.

In 2005, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) met with great difficulties and was thwarted in the end in its attempt to buy Unocal in the US.

Yet when Chinese financial institutions recently offered to invest in U.S. financial institutions on the ropes, notably Bear Stearns and Morgan Stanley, they didn't meet with the slightest objection.

The China ‘win-win’ argument fails to convince some observers. Despite China’s exceptional exporting ability, Wal-Mart and other big global market buyers still tell Chinese manufacturers how much they’re willing to pay.

"Pricing power comes when you make something that the rest of the world is desperate to buy. I can't think of a single industry where you can say that yet about China," Jim O'Neill, chief global economist with investment bank Goldman Sachs told the International Herald Tribune.

Nor does China's insatiable appetite for raw materials boost its bargaining power with suppliers, leverage notably absent during recent rumors of mining takeovers that could boost the steel prices Chinese manufacturers now pay.
 

Tex

Well-known member
Another transfer of wealth to China.

Haven't we had enough of these poor, poor policies that erode our democracy?
 

Mike

Well-known member
If China profits it won't be because of policy.

It will be because of the stupidity of the Americans for shopping at Wal Mart.
 

Tex

Well-known member
Mike said:
If China profits it won't be because of policy.

It will be because of the stupidity of the Americans for shopping at Wal Mart.

Or the stupidity of our government in allowing the collective interest to be divided into individual interests, thus making our country a house divided, not one as it says on our money, E pluribus unum.


The United Nations was rightly accused of the same thing (selling out the collective interest for self interest) when members (and some U.S. companies and officials) sold out the collective interest to get a bit of Saddam's oil after voting on sanctions.
 
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