Author: shyam

Notwithstanding government life-support initiatives, US consumers seem headed for years of retrenchment. Consumption’s share of US GDP currently stands at a sharply elevated 70%. While that’s down from the high of 71.3% in early 2009, it remains fully four percentage points above the 66% norm that prevailed in the final quarter of the twentieth century.

Reversion to that earlier share is likely as American consumers make the transition from the insanity of the boom to the sanity required of the bust. That spells subdued growth in US consumption for years to come – with a predictably massive impact on global consumption. While the US accounts for only 4.5% of the world’s population, its consumers spend $10.3 trillion annually – by far the most in the world.

via How Asia Copes with America’s Zombie Consumers by Stephen S. Roach – Project Syndicate.

Hyundai net profit up 47%
Honda operating profit down 52%
Volkswagen profits triple and Toyota’s halves.
Ford profits surge 22%
Maruti profits almost flat over last year’s.

Consumers can access their detailed credit report and score by paying Rs. 450 and filling a form at cibil.com and furnishing proofs of identity and address. The bureau’s managing director Arun Thukral said consumers can expect to get a full report and the score within one week to 10 days of applying.

via Cibil score to help borrowers negotiate for cheaper loans  – livemint.com.

Rising commodity prices are “triggering second-round effects via higher wages,” Alain Bokobza, the head of asset allocation strategy at Paris-based SocGen, wrote in an April 11 report titled “The EM Party Is Over.” He recommends switching to developed-nation equities from emerging markets.

“In most emerging markets, you do have these margin pressures building,” Michael Shaoul, the chairman of Marketfield Asset Management in New York, who has been shifting investments to the U.S. from emerging markets, said in an interview. “We’re fairly convinced that this monetary cycle will end in some distress.”

via BRIC Stocks’ Longest Rally Since 1997 Seen Doomed as Interest Rates Rise – Bloomberg.