Caixin (paywalled) says Chinese Banks Prepare to Lower Deposit Rates as Rate Cap Reform Takes Effect
Reform? What Reform?
Michael Pettis at China Financial Market takes a crack at the alleged reform in a series of Tweets in reference to the above article (emphasis mine).
- A new financial-sector “reform” will allow Chinese banks to lower deposit rates so as to reduce their funding costs, which in turn will allow them to “lower businesses’ borrowing costs, benefiting the real economy.”
- But this doesn’t benefit the real economy: It benefits some sectors (e.g. manufacturing and investment) at the expense of others (e.g. services). With the deposit rate already well below CPI inflation, an even lower deposit rate simply increases the…
- implicit financial-repression transfer from household savers to insolvent banks and borrowing businesses (and will further encourage households to speculate in property).
- Although Beijing insists that it must rebalance demand, in other words, this is yet another supply-side reform that is balanced with downward pressure on consumption growth. For all the talk of rebalancing, and “dual circulation”, the regulator’s default mode is to unbalance the economy further, which among other things reduces the labor-intensiveness of growth.
Fed, Bank of China, ECB, Bank of Japan
Q: Is the Fed, ECB, Bank of Japan, etc., doing anything essentially different?
A: Of course not, and it’s obvious.
Banks don’t lend from deposits in the US, they lend when they have creditworthy borrowers seeking money. In China, banks lend when the government tells them to lend whether it makes any sense or not.
Regardless, the CPI is up 5.0% year-over-year and deposit rates are negligible.
In the Eurozone, depositors get negative return for saving.
Fed Will Foolishly Continue QE Purchases in Search of Higher Inflation
On Wednesday, the Fed announced it will Continue QE Purchases in Search of Higher Inflation.
Inflation is a tax on consumers and savers, especially the poor.
Real Hourly Pay Is Losing to Inflation
Despite Wage Increases, Real Hourly Pay Is Losing to Inflation
Those looking to buy a house have been clobbered by inflation, and it’s not even reflected in the CPI.
Financial Repression Everywhere
The Fed’s explicit inflation policy is nothing other than financial repression of the poor for the benefit of asset holders (the wealthy).
Sadly, people in the US are likely to read Pettis’ Tweet thread and say “Look at what China is doing to its people” without stopping to think the Fed is doing the same damn thing.
Mish
(e.g. manufacturing and investment) at the expense of others (e.g.
services).”
If you researched that you’d find the opposite to be true.Most of those worth 5 million or more were born to poorer parents, inherited nothing and earned everything they made themselves.80 percent of all millionaires never inherited a dime.
https://www.ramseysolutions.com/retirement/the-national-study-of-millionaires-researchLook at the actual study, not on Ramsey’s take on it. But the study itself, as far as I can see, is pretty sound.Also the book “The Millionaire Next Door” has quite a bit of research contained in it. It’s a bit dated now, but Ramsey’s study he cites draws the same conclusion.4 out of 5 millionaires didn’t inherit a dime. Yes, the 1% inherits their money, by and large, but most millionaires are not in the 1%.Virtually anyone can be a millionaire if you spend less than you make and invest the difference.That’s the great thing about America.
So, let’s abolish the minimum wage then. Problem solved, libertarian style! 😉
What are you smoking? Do let me know! It would be so fun to get *that* lost, once in a while 😉
That’s actually true.A family of four who is making minimum wage today and get’s a bump up in pay to 20 bucks an hour actually is in worse shape financially due to the loss of government benefits.Right now wages are climbing rapidly. Why? Once you answer that question you’ll be able to determine what would happen to wages if government benefits were drastically cut.I’m sure you realize that employers have to compete for workers today. That competition is raising wages and people will work only when there is a perceived benefit to them.
There is no one starving or homeless right now in the USA, except either single men and women with felonies on their record or those who choose to live that way. No family in the USA earns less than 50k a year when government benefits are included. If you do not make enough you get sufficient food stamps to feed your family.Here in NC a single person gets 150 a month in food stamps if they earn less than 10k and a family of 4 will get over 750 a month in food stamps. That’s more than enough to feed a family.