whats going on with China

I think min wages is tagged to cost of realestate cost per sqm rate per city. This seems to be the only reliable/consistant measure of living costs across China. Problem is there is no corolation between monthly min wages and affordibility of home buying.

Compare the ratio of annual wages schedules to home cost index in China to overseas (western developed countries) and the gap between income and purchase cost in China is huge.
Using my wife as an example - she purchase first apt 2006 paid rmb1000000 ($159K) her annual income $4764 - same yr I sold 3 bdr investment house on 1/3 acre in Green Bay Auckland for US$190K - a Auckland logistic mgr salary was av US$49K.

 

Globe and Mail -- China’s factory activity hits 19-month high

 

Any estimate on how much more it costs to produce this in Thailand than in China right now?
Hi BPL

It would cost less to fabricate and weld the aluminum structures in Thailand because of the lower and stable labor cost and most of all its my home.

China has the huge advantage of materials such as titanium that Thailand has not available or lost wax investment castings that is far less price in China to the only several casting factories in Thailand compared to the hundreds in China.

Aluminum sheeting made in China or imported and readily available but not in Thailand so to manufacture in Thailand one would need to import all materials from China including welding machines ect that are very expensive in Thailand to purchase.

I paid $400 USD for a new mig welding machine that welded the Myark amphibious trailer boat and for the consumables such quality sanding disc at 15 rmb for a pack of 10 or 25c each or air grinder meat axe blades and the skill saws cutting blades for aluminum at $5 each from a local shop.
Machining shops in China would be 1000 to 1 of Thailand’s.

 

That's another of the things that China has surreptitiously done - corralled a lot of the precious metals resources worldwide, essential in the overall scheme of manufacturing.

 

Ya...those dam chinese are almost as bad as Goldman Sachs

"Goldman and Glencore own warehouses in New Orleans that store about 60% of the world’s zinc supply"

"In a dilapidated neighbourhood in Detroit, Michigan, Goldman Sachs - the largest investment bank in the world - has stockpiled about a quarter of the global aluminium inventories. "

 

A guy down the road has stockpiled aluminum cans for years, every time a hurricane threatens he's in a frenzied tizzy to get them all tied down with fish nets. I don't think he went to an accredited college.

 

Hey...you never know. With the price of grain and metal commodities skyrocketing, Beer in the can could be a profitable long term power play.

Wonder if Goldman is stockpiling cans of beer...

 

I recently worked on this Chinese owned iron ore mine in Australia. http://www.citicpacificmining.com/en/project/corporate-video/



CPM has rights to acquire an additional three billion tonnes of resources which would lift production to 70 million tonnes each year

The Sino Iron Ore project is an important project for both Australia and China. Once completed, CITIC Pacific Mining will become the first Chinese-owned mining company to ship iron ore products from WA to China. Australia and China will enjoy mutual wide-ranging benefits from the Sino Iron project including long-term economic, social and community dividends for decades to come.

 

I had prefaced my comment of

with "Aside from buying Brazil , Africa and Australia," but left it out to simplify things. Although Australians are mighty tough cookies, if Crocodile Dundee is representative, I don't think the country of Australia has the wherewithal to defend itself and so aligns itself with the powers that be. In the future, watch Australia sit on the fence, and I won't be too surprised if they flop off onto the Chinese side. Good or bad...who knows.

 

Its just the way the world works. Small and midsize countries must tie their fate to a superpower. There is no such thing as Non Aligned

 

Australia has for (too) long time alligned govt policy to comply with US interests, some minor Aus ministers and lobbiests were even caught taking instructions directly from Washington to quietly hijack Aus govt policy.

PM John Howard was so far up Bush Jr backside that Bush was uncomfortable whenever he sat down if JH was in town, JH protuding shoe's hurt him.

Australia's nothern border is the weakness in defence system, I don't think China will ever be a military threat to the country, but Indonesian potential is another matter.

I think Aus has to limit what national assets and resources it is prepared to sell China. Once a country's ecconomy is hitched to that of another that doesn't share the same political agenda then brown stuff and the fan happen

 

I guess. At present Australia is rich. If things change, attitudes and options will also change.

 

http://www.usagold.com/cpmforum/2012/12/31/the-gold-owner’s-guide-to-2013/ and this portends change everywhere and the presentation given in Shanghai last year here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/big-reset-2012-and-2013-will-usher-end-scariest-presentation-ever both worthy of careful reading...

 

Yes, but there are such things as right and wrong. Democracy and capitalism are different things. Democracy gives one the right to own and sell, but to sell to the highest bidder without taking in to account anything but the money is shortsighted. If Australia wants to sell out/align itself with a communist country known for it's human abuses, disregard for the environment and corruption, with a bee hive mentality grasping for power, money and social order, good luck with that.

The Northern border is the weak part of the defense system, but that's only because Antarctica's penguins aren't belligerent and haven't attacked. What's Australia got for a military? 50,000 land based troops, some frigates and patrol boats and a land based air force. All they can do is pester an enemy until someone else comes along to kick ***. And who would that be?

Australia is an isolated, sitting duck and it's only real defense is to ally itself with someone and there are not many choices.

 

The Chinese Sino Iron project in WA I worked for last year pay working as boilermaker 6G ASME9 welder 11 hour a day, 7 days a week was $3350 USD after tax plus $250 a week redundancies plus holiday pay and sick pay also first class accommodation with A grade food as much as one can eat.
A swimming pool provided and other camp entertainment facilities, airfares paid
The Chinese workers which were 25% of the contracting company I worked for are good guys to work with.