February 19, 2014
Is China’s love for Treasurys waning?
Is China’s love for Treasurys waning?
China sold almost $48 billion worth of U.S. Treasurys in December, the most in two years. A huge sum but not a sign that China is about to give up being the world’s biggest foreign holder of Treasuries anytime soon, analysts say.
China plays up visit by senior Taiwan figure, showing desire to nudge island closer to Beijing
China’s state media is devoting blanket coverage to the visit by a senior figure in Taiwan’s ruling party in a sign of its desire to nudge the island closer to Beijing.
JPMorgan sells New York building to Chinese firm for $725 million
JPMorgan Chase has sold the One Chase Manhattan Plaza skyscraper to Fosun International [estimated worth of $3 Billion] for $725 million, the latest in a series of New York real estate purchases by Chinese investors.
The office building of JPMorgan with its largest private gold vaults at Chase Manhattan Plaza, opposite to the New York Federal Reserve building, has been recently sold to the Chinese.
Since 1996, the Chinese have made 51 major acquisitions in America, including deals to own or control iconic U.S. assets like computer giant IBM, carmaker GM, meat producer Smithfield Foods, U.S. power company AES Corp., major airplane lessor International Lease Finance Corp., investment bank Morgan Stanley, and private-equity firm Blackstone Group. They’ve also bought trophy real estate around the U.S., like the GM Tower.
These deals didn’t happen by accident. They happened because the U.S. continues to consume far more than it produces. We finance this consumption with debt that’s owned in large measure by foreign creditors. Take the U.S. Treasury debt, for example. At nearly $17 trillion, this is the world’s largest pile of obligations. If you exclude Treasury obligations held by the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve, 54% of the remaining obligations are held by foreign creditors. And these foreign debts continue to grow rapidly – at about $500 billion annually.