BEIJING (AP) — Salvagers plan to raise a merchant boat that sank 800 years ago off the south China coast loaded with porcelain, state media reported Friday.
The recovery is planned for Saturday "if the weather is cooperative" Wu Jiancheng, head of the government excavation project, was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.
Wu said it would take about two hours to lift the ship, dubbed the Nanhai No. 1, which means "South China Sea No. 1." He estimated there were 60,000 to 80,000 items on board when it sank in stormy weather.
The 100-foot vessel dates from the early Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). It was discovered in 1987 off the coast near Yangjiang city, in Guangdong province, in more than 65 feet of water.
Green-glazed porcelain plates and shadowy blue porcelain items were among rare antiques found during the initial exploration of the ship.
The China Daily newspaper said the cargo also included gold and jewels.
An official at the Guangzhou Salvage Bureau of the Ministry of Communications, which is in charge of the recovery, confirmed the plan. The official refused to give her name citing policy.
To protect the relics and ship, archaeologists launched an operation in early May to raise the wreck and the surrounding silt in a huge steel basket, Xinhua said.
On Saturday, a crane is to lift the basket onto a barge. The barge will be taken to a port where the boat will be placed in a huge glass pool at a specially built museum where the water temperature, pressure and other environmental conditions are the same as where the ship has lain on the seabed for centuries.
"It will be sealed after the ship and the silt are put in," Feng Shaowen, head of the Yangjiang city cultural bureau, told Xinhua.
Feng said visitors will be able watch the excavation of the ship through windows on the pool.
SHANGHAI, China (AP) — China's first fully homegrown commercial aircraft, the ARJ-21, rolled off the production line Friday, marking a major step in the country's aviation program.
In a nationally televised ceremony, the Xiangfeng, or "Flying Phoenix," was towed into a hangar at the Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Factory.
China Aviation Industry Corp. I, or AVIC I, plans to begin mass production of the 85-seat regional passenger jet in 2009. It is scheduled to make its maiden flight in March.
"Today, China's aviation industry has turned over a new leaf," Lin Zuoming, general manager of AVIC I said in comments carried on the news channel of China Central Television.
The rollout ceremony was closed to most media, apart from state-run CCTV and the official Xinhua News Agency.
The highly touted project aims to make state-owned AVIC I a competitor to other makers of smaller passenger jets, such as Canada's Bombardier Inc. and Brazil's Embraer SA, while laying the groundwork for development of a commercial jet twice the size of the ARJ-21.
AVIC I says the ARJ-21 is expected to grab up to 60 percent of the domestic market for mid-size regional airliners over the next 20 years.
China will need about 900 mid-sized regional jets over the next two decades, the company estimates, as economic growth drives an expansion of air travel and airlines look for planes best tailored to feeder routes.
NEW YORK (AP) — There's a good reason schools across the country are scrambling to find people who can teach Chinese: It's quickly becoming business' second language as Wall Street seeks to tap China's $1.3 trillion in foreign reserves.
China has been making increasingly aggressive investments in some of the world's most prestigious financial companies in recent months — most of them American. Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns, Blackstone Group, and Britain's Barclays have all negotiated major stakes by Chinese government-controlled investment funds.
Investment banks ailing from the subprime mortgage mess are looking for money to shore up their balance sheets. And China is leading a surge of strategic investments from Asia and the Middle East that so far have sunk about $25 billion into Wall Street banks.
That's just the start of what some believe is a dramatic reversal of financial power in the shadow of Wall Street's credit turmoil.
"Both Chinese private and government interests are controlling more and more of the U.S. economy, and this is a result of the big trade and budget deficits we have," said Alan Donziger, professor of economics at Villanova School of Business. "These investments will make the U.S. somewhat less independent, but this is inevitable when we live in a global economy."
To be sure, Wall Street's current predicament is "our own doing," he said. Turmoil in the credit markets have been fueled by defaults on subprime mortgages, and that's caused the Federal Reserve to attempt a bailout of the industry through interest rate cuts.
Lower interest rates have caused the dollar to slide in value against other major currencies. And, for foreign governments, the devalued dollar makes investments in these financial institutions cheap.
In the 1980s, Japanese investors snapped up real estate and invested in businesses across a number of sectors. This new wave of foreign investment is different because Asian and Middle Eastern governments are taking stakes in financial institutions — a cornerstone of the U.S. economy.
China agreed to pay $5 billion for a 9.9 percent stake in Morgan Stanley, and those securities pay 9 percent a year until they convert to shares in 2010. That translates to a gain of about $450 million of cash next year.
But, for Morgan Stanley investors, the infusion of new stock two years from now will dilute their shares — and potentially make owning Morgan Stanley's securities less valuable. The same can be said about other banks that receive foreign investments.
The deals have been structured so that the sovereign funds are passive investors with no seat on the board, and this escapes regulatory scrutiny. This week President Bush said Thursday he was "fine" with foreign investors snapping up big stakes in U.S. banks and financial firms.
By keeping investments under 10 percent, it does not trip an automatic review by the government. Bush, and others, believe the injection of foreign capital helps keep the banks competitive and restores faith in an industry beaten down this year.
"These are non-controlling investments, provides capital, and really is a statement of confidence," said John Douglas, a partner with law firm Paul Hastings who heads its global bank regulatory practice. "There's a lot of good things here."
But, some banking analysts believe these government-sponsored funds might get more say than the banks are admitting.
"The Chinese are putting $5 billion into Morgan Stanley without there being some kind of quid pro quo of what they're going to get other than interest on their investment," said Dick Bove, an analyst with Punk Ziegler & Co. "It's part of a major shift in the worldwide financial system that I think will be very negative to the U.S."
He said these kind of investments are not over, and expects to see others surface next year. In some cases, investment banks that have already received investments might strike other deals to increase capital.
Next up? Speculation swept through Wall Street on Friday that Merrill Lynch & Co. is on the hunt for a foreign investment to help cushion what could be a huge fourth-quarter writedown in January.
"The whole situation has changed with financial power moving dramatically toward China and the Middle East, and that will have significant impact over time," Bove said.
7 comments:
China to Salvage Merchant Ship
BEIJING (AP) — Salvagers plan to raise a merchant boat that sank 800 years ago off the south China coast loaded with porcelain, state media reported Friday.
The recovery is planned for Saturday "if the weather is cooperative" Wu Jiancheng, head of the government excavation project, was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.
Wu said it would take about two hours to lift the ship, dubbed the Nanhai No. 1, which means "South China Sea No. 1." He estimated there were 60,000 to 80,000 items on board when it sank in stormy weather.
The 100-foot vessel dates from the early Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). It was discovered in 1987 off the coast near Yangjiang city, in Guangdong province, in more than 65 feet of water.
Green-glazed porcelain plates and shadowy blue porcelain items were among rare antiques found during the initial exploration of the ship.
The China Daily newspaper said the cargo also included gold and jewels.
An official at the Guangzhou Salvage Bureau of the Ministry of Communications, which is in charge of the recovery, confirmed the plan. The official refused to give her name citing policy.
To protect the relics and ship, archaeologists launched an operation in early May to raise the wreck and the surrounding silt in a huge steel basket, Xinhua said.
On Saturday, a crane is to lift the basket onto a barge. The barge will be taken to a port where the boat will be placed in a huge glass pool at a specially built museum where the water temperature, pressure and other environmental conditions are the same as where the ship has lain on the seabed for centuries.
"It will be sealed after the ship and the silt are put in," Feng Shaowen, head of the Yangjiang city cultural bureau, told Xinhua.
Feng said visitors will be able watch the excavation of the ship through windows on the pool.
China Inaugurates Homegrown Jet
SHANGHAI, China (AP) — China's first fully homegrown commercial aircraft, the ARJ-21, rolled off the production line Friday, marking a major step in the country's aviation program.
In a nationally televised ceremony, the Xiangfeng, or "Flying Phoenix," was towed into a hangar at the Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Factory.
China Aviation Industry Corp. I, or AVIC I, plans to begin mass production of the 85-seat regional passenger jet in 2009. It is scheduled to make its maiden flight in March.
"Today, China's aviation industry has turned over a new leaf," Lin Zuoming, general manager of AVIC I said in comments carried on the news channel of China Central Television.
The rollout ceremony was closed to most media, apart from state-run CCTV and the official Xinhua News Agency.
The highly touted project aims to make state-owned AVIC I a competitor to other makers of smaller passenger jets, such as Canada's Bombardier Inc. and Brazil's Embraer SA, while laying the groundwork for development of a commercial jet twice the size of the ARJ-21.
AVIC I says the ARJ-21 is expected to grab up to 60 percent of the domestic market for mid-size regional airliners over the next 20 years.
China will need about 900 mid-sized regional jets over the next two decades, the company estimates, as economic growth drives an expansion of air travel and airlines look for planes best tailored to feeder routes.
China Taking Stock in Wall Street
NEW YORK (AP) — There's a good reason schools across the country are scrambling to find people who can teach Chinese: It's quickly becoming business' second language as Wall Street seeks to tap China's $1.3 trillion in foreign reserves.
China has been making increasingly aggressive investments in some of the world's most prestigious financial companies in recent months — most of them American. Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns, Blackstone Group, and Britain's Barclays have all negotiated major stakes by Chinese government-controlled investment funds.
Investment banks ailing from the subprime mortgage mess are looking for money to shore up their balance sheets. And China is leading a surge of strategic investments from Asia and the Middle East that so far have sunk about $25 billion into Wall Street banks.
That's just the start of what some believe is a dramatic reversal of financial power in the shadow of Wall Street's credit turmoil.
"Both Chinese private and government interests are controlling more and more of the U.S. economy, and this is a result of the big trade and budget deficits we have," said Alan Donziger, professor of economics at Villanova School of Business. "These investments will make the U.S. somewhat less independent, but this is inevitable when we live in a global economy."
To be sure, Wall Street's current predicament is "our own doing," he said. Turmoil in the credit markets have been fueled by defaults on subprime mortgages, and that's caused the Federal Reserve to attempt a bailout of the industry through interest rate cuts.
Lower interest rates have caused the dollar to slide in value against other major currencies. And, for foreign governments, the devalued dollar makes investments in these financial institutions cheap.
In the 1980s, Japanese investors snapped up real estate and invested in businesses across a number of sectors. This new wave of foreign investment is different because Asian and Middle Eastern governments are taking stakes in financial institutions — a cornerstone of the U.S. economy.
China agreed to pay $5 billion for a 9.9 percent stake in Morgan Stanley, and those securities pay 9 percent a year until they convert to shares in 2010. That translates to a gain of about $450 million of cash next year.
But, for Morgan Stanley investors, the infusion of new stock two years from now will dilute their shares — and potentially make owning Morgan Stanley's securities less valuable. The same can be said about other banks that receive foreign investments.
The deals have been structured so that the sovereign funds are passive investors with no seat on the board, and this escapes regulatory scrutiny. This week President Bush said Thursday he was "fine" with foreign investors snapping up big stakes in U.S. banks and financial firms.
By keeping investments under 10 percent, it does not trip an automatic review by the government. Bush, and others, believe the injection of foreign capital helps keep the banks competitive and restores faith in an industry beaten down this year.
"These are non-controlling investments, provides capital, and really is a statement of confidence," said John Douglas, a partner with law firm Paul Hastings who heads its global bank regulatory practice. "There's a lot of good things here."
But, some banking analysts believe these government-sponsored funds might get more say than the banks are admitting.
"The Chinese are putting $5 billion into Morgan Stanley without there being some kind of quid pro quo of what they're going to get other than interest on their investment," said Dick Bove, an analyst with Punk Ziegler & Co. "It's part of a major shift in the worldwide financial system that I think will be very negative to the U.S."
He said these kind of investments are not over, and expects to see others surface next year. In some cases, investment banks that have already received investments might strike other deals to increase capital.
Next up? Speculation swept through Wall Street on Friday that Merrill Lynch & Co. is on the hunt for a foreign investment to help cushion what could be a huge fourth-quarter writedown in January.
"The whole situation has changed with financial power moving dramatically toward China and the Middle East, and that will have significant impact over time," Bove said.
国际金融资本的势力：货币战争
自1694年英格兰银行成立以来的３００年间，几乎每一场世界重大变故背后，都能看到国际金融资本势力的身影。他们通过左右一国的经济命脉掌握国家的政治命运，通过煽动政治事件、诱发经济危机，控制着世界财富的流向与分配。可以说，一部世界金融史，就是一部谋求主宰人类财富的阴谋史。随着中国金融的全面开放，国际银行家将大举深入中国的金融腹地。昨天发生在西方的故事，今天会在中国重演吗？
东航为什么要贱卖?
来源：华夏时报 2007-12-22 10:19
金岩石：东航在蛋壳和蛋黄中徘徊
就在大家讨论东航是否"贱卖"国有资产的时候，一个主要的问题成为了关键，东航为什么选中新航？对此，湘财证券首席经济学家金岩石给出了自己的看法：在面临政策整合的前提下，寻找外资是目前最好的办法。
金岩石谈到的政策整合指的是，国资委关于高负债率的企业要进行整合的最新政策。"东航可能正在蛋黄和蛋壳之间悬着呢，如果不找新航的话，负债率降不下来，基本上变成蛋黄了。"金岩石形象地把整合前后的企业比喻为蛋黄和蛋壳。"通过引进战略投资者，通过香港H股上市，可以迅速把东航成为蛋壳的概率大幅度提高。"
同时他还认为，东航与国航常年竞争的状态也是新航胜出的原因之一。"国航和东航之争是路人皆知的事情，争了这么多年，鹬蚌相争渔翁得利，要能合作早就合作了，这种不可能合作的情况之下，只让谁得利的问题，那么这个背景之下，站在东航的立场上，宁可卖给新航，也不能卖给我的敌人，是长时间竞争当中形成的管理层的利益导向、利益纠纷、各种宿怨，还有各种管理人员跳来跳去，积怨造成的问题。"
"从行业的角度来说，支持东航引进新航，新航是全球公认国际服务当中质量最高的，如果新航愿意出钱，可以参与管理，是好事，前提是价格要谈好。"金岩石强调。
针对东航H股定向增发3.8港元的定价一事，金岩石表示，谈判价格要接近2006年的市值和市盈率，而不是基于净资产，同时要充分考虑到中国航空业的品牌溢价、垄断溢价、市场份额溢价，以及目前的市值溢价。
同时，金岩石认为新东合作符合行业的发展规律。他指出，"由于航空业品牌知名度高，政府依赖度高，银行参与度高，实际上航空业的总体趋势走向寡头垄断，而我们现在走了一个相反的路，这些年有多家航空公司突然冒了出来，这个过程当中我觉得新东的整合至少从方向来说，是一个走向寡头垄断的趋势"。
当前价格走势与未来趋势分析
金融时报
发布时间： 2007年12月21日
南海一號提早升上水面
December 22, 2007
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