- [China's] Exports for the last month of 2009 were $130.7 billion, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. That raised total 2009 exports to $1.2 trillion, ahead of the 816 billion euros ($1.17 trillion) for Germany forecast by its foreign trade organization, BGA.
- Boosted by a 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus, China's economic expansion accelerated to 8.9 percent for the third quarter of 2009 and the government says full-year growth should be 8.3 percent.
- China surpassed the United States as the biggest auto market in 2009 and is on track to replace Japan as the world's second-largest economy soon. China passed Germany as the third-largest economy in 2007.
- China's trade surplus shrank by 34.2 percent in 2009 to $196.07 billion, the customs agency said. That reflected China's stronger demand for imported raw materials and consumer goods while the United States and other economies are struggling and demand is weak.
- Even though China overtook Germany as top exporter, the customs agency said total 2009 Chinese trade fell 13.9 percent from 2008.
One way we expect to participate in long-term growth (both in China and abroad) is through an ownership position in container shipping company Seaspan (SSW). We we acquired shares in the company last year and still see a margin of safety at current levels. Although some see/call large container ships "barnacle magnets," we sleep well owning a piece of the critical global freight transportation network. Further, we like Seaspan because of the company's stable, REIT-like business model.

We will try to briefly share our SSW thesis in a future post. Please stay tuned.
Happy investing,
Jeffrey Walkenhorst
CommonStock$ense
Disclosure: long YHOO, SSW.
© 2010 Jeffrey Walkenhorst
Please see important Risk Factors & Disclaimer
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.