Greek Debt Worries;Oil Optimism

The Greek finance minister expressed doubts about being to repay its big loans,although it can manage its public sector expenses.We will definitely have problems in making debt payments,said Yanis Varoufakis to Alpha Radio.Greece has an IMF loan of 1.6 billion euros comig due in March;i also has 7.5 billion of ECB bonds coming to maturity in July and August.
This skepticism comes after Greece got a four-month bailout extension from the EU on Tuesday.Any major Greek credit problems could roil world financial markets.*
In the port of Jizan,Saudi Arabia,Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi voiced optimism to reporters.The oil markets are calm now,and demand is growing,according to Mr.al-Naimi.
As well,China's manufacturing sector is growing,according to the flash HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers Index.China is the world's second-largest energy consumer after the US.
The cheery news caused Brent crude to soar 5% to 61.63 per barrel;while Cushing crude went up 1.71 to 50.99.*
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The China Trade:Outlook For Equities

The last four years,stocks have done pretty well,but with volatility,according to Chris Blum,head of Global Equities at JP Morgan Private Bank.The volatility will be much less than in the last couple of years.Global coordinated central bank action will lower volatility and get people into equities.
People expect a 15-20% pullback,but those days are history.They will be in the mid-single digits.The key is that people have rules and follow them when things get tough.
We like China.That equities market has lagged the US by 30%.China has a much better balance sheet as a country.They are deficient in human rights.As it relates to fostering growth,I think it is a fantastic system.They reach decisions behind closed doors and implement them.
Citigroup says Chinese stocks will beat those of the G20 in 2013.The Shanghai stock index has risen 3.4%,the most since June 2012.
China is burning as much coal as the rest of the world combined,notes The Washington Post.The HSBC China PMI shows manufacturing expanding at the fastest pace in two years.
iShares FTSE China 25 Index Fund(FXI)

Asian Voices 2-plus a Middle East Moment

The focus,perhaps,should be more on the job market in China,said Donna Kwok,Greater China Economist at HSBC Global Research.Domestic consumption and social stability could be hurt by it.
We think the downturn in China is driven by one thing:external demand,given the downturn in Europe and sluggish growth in the US.We continue to see incremental steps to liberalisation in the next few years.Redistribution of workers is more important to domestic demand in China than absolute numbers of workers.
Mark Konyn,CEO of Cathay Canning Asset Management,notes that in Europe,we're starting to see contraction across the continent,and that's worrying.That could get worse.Spain hasn't been able to work its way through the regional problems.
I think there'll be more asset purchasing.Markets are positioning for more stimulus.We're expecting to see more growth in the second half of the year.I would argue it's more cyclical than waiting for stimulus in China.
In the Middle East,shock waves continue to ripple through the region from the deadly rocket attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi,Libya.Senator John McCain,R-Arizona,said I see it as a newly-elected government that is having the growing pains that any government would have.There are weapons everywhere in Libya, and there are jihadists that have come into the country and continue to come on.These are very dangerous people trying to hijack the revolution.
The attack was done by people who were obviously Muslim extremists.We all should be worried about al-Qaida.The best way to help Libya is to help them train their army and with their intelligence capability.I'm confident we can do that.I cannot be more proud of Ambassador Chris Stevens,the senator had emotionally said of his friend,US Ambassador J.Christopher Stevens,who with three colleagues was killed Tuesday in the organised Benghazi assault by perhaps two dozen militants on the eleventh anniversary of 9-11.

The Outlook for Chinese Equities

The global growth slowdown is much on the minds of financial analysts in Asia.HSBC says a fall in demand is already affecting countries in the region.China,India and South Korea are export-driven.China Daily said the European debt crisis will affect China's real economy.
Nonetheless,the major brackets are doing well,according to John Tang,a China strategist at UBS.I don't think we are gonna see earnings affected very much.If we still see 8-9% growth,bank earnings won't be much affected.The outlook for the index is actually quite good.
The Japanese yen or bond are not an option,and the euro is even worse.The U.S. dollar will still be a must have.
Real estate is the most upbeat sector.Earnings are very robust;valuation has been quite low.It is the number one consumer sector in China.Look past the short political headwinds.I don't think we should be trading at that low level,Mr.Tang observed.

HSBC Sees Steady Growth

British bank HSBC's profits have doubled.Peter Wong,CEO of the bank's Asia-Pac division,says that this year the growth is quite sustainable.The loan growth has not had its full impact yet.Hong Kong is definitely a pocket of strength.So are Malaysia,Singapore,mainland China,India and Australia.Over the next couple of years,European GDP will be pretty low,affecting China,but China will still have a GDP of 10% this year and 8.5-9% in 2011.
HSBC has done a lot of background work to list in mainland China's stock market.China says it is a high priority.HSBC continues to build 15-20 branches a year in China.In India,they are gonna buy RBS assets,but mainly HSBC is growing organically.In China,HSBC has invested in ICBC and Ping An Insurance.
HSBC is very cautious in its mortgages.Customers do not pay more than 15% of their income.HSBC's portfolio is quite secure.
If Hong Kong continues to increase,it will form a bubble.It is stable for now,in Peter Wong's estimation.
HSBC Holdings,plc(HBC)

Assessing China

China is currently experiencing an export downturn because of poor economic conditions in the U.S. and Europe.Jing Ulrich of JP Morgan Chase(JPM) notes that the infrastructure and banking sectors are still strong in China.More power plants,ports,railroads and water works are being built.The Chinese financial markets are extremely volatile.In 2007,they were the best;in 2008,they are the worst.One has to keep a long term horizon,Ms.Ulrich feels.British bank HSBC is doing just that,with expansion plans in China.It is opening branches in 3-4 new cities a year.It already has 74 branches in 17 cities.