Who is telling the truth about China?

Baltimore — Who do you trust more, the Chinese government or the politically connected folks at the helm of Goldman Sachs?

For years, the Street has looked at any Chinese economic data with a weary eye. Without the checks and balances of a democratic government, Beijing had plenty of reasons to manipulate its growth figures.

Even though all signs point to a strong, stimulus-fueled recovery, most pundits refuse to believe the country’s tales of double-digit GDP growth.

But the folks at Goldman Sachs are taking the disbelief in a different direction. According to reports from the banking behemoth’s analysts, China likely grew by 13.1% last month.

It is a bold claim in a year when Chinese officials estimate domestic growth of a much more…

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Capitalism is alive and well

Baltimore – (TFN): Hallelujah, the markets work! You have no idea how happy I was this morning when I opened the Wall Street Journal and found an article detailing Goldman Sachs shareholder anger at the recent bonus payouts.

Now, I don’t care who makes what. That’s between bosses and their worker bees. But I do get a little peeved when Uncle Sam tries to tell some worker he can’t get paid per his contract.

Before you go shouting about how Washington saved Wall Street and therefore we, as taxpayers, get a say over pay, let me ask you this. Does your mortgage company tell you what color to paint little Johnnie’s room? Does your car loan provider tell you how fast to…

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Goldman Sachs – Defending the biggest kid on the block

Resident voice of reason at The Daily Reckoning, Bill Bonner takes a hard look at Goldman Sachs and replaces jealousy with admiration.
“We pick up sword and shield, ready to fight for Goldman, after reading the Financial Times. The FT has devoted a whole page to Goldman bashing. It’s time someone stood up to say a kind word for the firm.”

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When Markets Collide Investment Strategies for the Age of Global Economic Change

When Markets Collide Investment Strategies for the Age of Global Economic Change

SELECTED AS A 2008 BEST [...]

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Should we Fire the Fed?

All eyes and ears are on the Fed this week. With Bernanke in New York discussing potential new bubbles and the New York Fed getting heat for overpaying AIG’s many creditors, investors are having a tough time knowing exactly who to follow.

For those of you who hold up the “Fire the Fed” signs, move over. I am thinking about joining your camp.

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Hold on to Brazil for now

The fundamentals are improving in Brazil — but right now global cash flows are driving emerging-market stocks.

In the long run, I want Brazil in my portfolio because of those improving fundamentals. In the short run, I want to own Brazilian stocks be…

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Goldman Sachs’ upcoming blowout earnings

Banking giant Goldman Sachs (GS) is set to report earnings on Thursday and I, for one, am expecting an impressive blow-out.As a behemoth on Wall Street, GS has managed to stay successful in both good times and bad. Shares are up nearly 100% over the pa…

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Goldman bonuses at highest level ever

Wasn’t there some controversy over Wall Street bonuses recently? You wouldn’t know it by looking at Goldman Sachs (GS), whose bonuses this year look to be the highest in its history.Analysts estimate that Goldman’s annual bonus pool has hit a record $2…

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3 reasons to own China stocks now

This article was written by InvestorPlace’s Jim Woods.If you’ve been paying attention to events outside the confines of U.S. borders, you likely already realize that the really big investing profits aren’t going to be made in companies based in America…

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Will Rise In September Retail Sales Carry into Holidays?

Retail sales rose in September for the first time in 13 months, fueling hopes that the worst is behind retailers that head into the holiday season better prepared for a tough economic environment.

Three reports were unanimous that sales gained, but to different degrees: Market research firm Retail Metrics Inc. said sales rose 1.1% last month, Thomson Reuters tallied a rise of 0.6% and a tally by International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) showed a 0.1% increase.

“Let the retail recovery begin,” said Michael Niemira, chief economist at ICSC. “This is the start of a better performance and better fundamentals.”

Retailers such as Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO) and Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) raised…

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In Goldman vs. rest of the world, Goldman’s winning

This article is written by Minyanville’s Megan Barnett This week has seen yet another round in the battle between Goldman Sachs (GS) and the Rest of the World. See also, Goldman Sachs Lightning Bolt Sparks Rally. On Monday, Goldman Sachs analysts Richa…

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The Lehman of 2009

Naturally, at the focus of renewed market pessimism is a struggling financial: CIT Group. (NYSE:CIT) The company — a hundred-year-old staple of small/medium business lending — is no stranger to walking the credit tightrope. They narrowly averted fiscal meltdown late last year with $2.3 billion in TARP bucks… then again in July by goosing bondholders with a $3 billion a debt-to-equity deal. Back then we joked, “Look for this crisis to repeat in a couple weeks.” We were wrong… it took a couple months.

So with some historic irony, one year and two weeks after Lehman Bros. bit the dust, another debt-burdened, credit-reliant, potentially “too big to fail” institution is looking to either stick its bondholders with a raw deal or enter…

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Is there hope for the labor market?

Friday saw the release of the latest employment situation report and boy was it a doozy. Payrolls fell by another 263,000 in September, well under the consensus estimate of a loss of 170,000. The unemployment rate inched higher to 9.8% — which now s…

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