Swoosh

Nike was the Goddess of Victory in ancient Greece. She was honoured by Zeus because she fought on the side of the gods against the Titans. So the Athenians dedicated her statue in Delphi after the naval victory over the Persians at Salamis (480 BC). However, athletes and charioteers also paid her honour for their successes in games – when speed and strength were also added to the epithet.

Okay, Nike is also the World’s largest sport shoe manufacturer which has just announced a 25% increase in orders in China. The Nation also accounted for 9% of Q1 sales ($460 million). “As consumers are getting wealthier here they are buying special items for the gym, for the weekend and for going out” according to China Market Research; with basketball being a particular favourite.

This is the point being emphasised by the US-China Business Council including the likes of Caterpillar, Citigroup and Microsoft. It/they say(s) that taking legislative action to try and force China to appreciate its currency and the like is counterproductive. China is potentially the World’s largest consumer; and, for a manufacturer: “ignore it at your peril” (and certainly don’t upset it).

And so the apparently conciliatory between Obama and Wen in New York yesterday is a good sign, despite ‘the elephant in the room’ of US Congress seeking to legally challenge China on the Yuan, imports etc. What is more, the Yuan has shifted 2% already (since peg abandonment on 19 June) and my favourite lady, Jing Ulrich (Chairman of JPMorgan in China), says expect another 1 or 2% by the end of the year – making 3 or 4%.

“Know that you are great...so dominate” - Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Shanghai Composite:
Today: Closed
Tuesday: +0.11% at 2,591.55 at close
This week: -0.3%
YTD: -20.9%

Hang Seng:
Today: +0.28% at 22,109.41 at 12.35
This week: +0.6%
YTD: +1.1%

Oil futures: $74.85
Gold futures: $1295.30 (after new actual high of $1296.30)
Euro/$ spot: 1.3321

Headlines

• Obama and Wen pledge co-operation on economic issues
• Four Japanese held in China as dishing boat tensions escalate
• China denies Japanese rare earth ban
• Ghana signs $10.4 billion infrastructure loan accord with China's Exim Bank
• China Development Bank is to spend $120 million on Ukraine coal mines
• Death toll from Typhoon Fanapi rises to 54 in Guangdong