China's Bird Flu Jumps The Border As First Case Confirmed In Taiwan

While precious little space has been dedicated in the US media to what remains an uncontained epidemic of the H7N9 bird flu in China, cases continue to spread even as the number of deaths mount, taking at least 22 reported lives at last check. Things just got from bad to worse, as the bird flu is now following in the footsteps of the 2003 SARS breakout, with the first reported case outside of China hitting newswires overnight.

The SCMP reports that "Taiwan on Wednesday reported the first case of the H7N9 bird flu outside of mainland China. The case involves a 53-year-old man, who had been working in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou. He showed flu symptoms three days after returning to Taiwan via Shanghai, the Centres for Disease Control said, adding that he had been hospitalised since April 16 and was in a critical condition." Considering the lack of transparency of the Chinese government one can only guess, literally, at what the true morbidity and mortality statistics of the flu epidemic are, which is perhaps the main reason this ongoing story for the past two months has so far evaded major coverage. Read more >>

410 Pigs and 122 Dogs found dead in Central China

Hundreds more pigs have been found dead in China - this time together with dozens of dogs. A total of 410 pigs and 122 dogs were discovered in homes and at farms earlier this week in a village that comes under Yanshi city's jurisdiction in central Henan province, authorities said Wednesday.

The city's propaganda office said that the deaths were being investigated but that they suspected they had to do with nearby chemical factories. The factories have been ordered to suspend production and help police with a criminal investigation into the incident, according to a report on a Henan provincial news website.

No poisonous gases have been found in tests on the air around the village and its drinking water has met quality standards, said the report, which the propaganda office confirmed. Local authorities said the deaths have nothing to do with any epidemic or the H7N9 bird flu virus that has recently spread to humans. Read more >>

Bird Flu Fears Mount in China as Herbal Remedies Run Out

A popular herb called ban lan gen, or blue root, has been flying off pharmacy shelves across China as local governments encourage people to consider traditional remedies to ward off the latest bird flu virus.

With scientists so far unable to pinpoint the H7N9 influenza virus’ animal host, locals are preparing for a possible pandemic by stocking up on popular plant remedies as well as face masks and hand sanitizers and other over-the- counter medicines.

“Chinese people associate ban lan gen with anti-virus,” said Shen Jiangang, assistant director for research at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s School of Chinese Medicine. “So when they hear about bird flu, they immediately think it might be effective to protect themselves although there is no experimental evidence.”

Ayurvedic and Chinese medicines have used the remedy for centuries. Scientists have proved it can relieve bacterial conjunctivitis in eye drops and found it has an antiviral effect in test tubes. There is no test to show it works against influenza. Read more >>

Gold Drops Most In 30 Years

Previously, levered hedge funds were forced to sell gold on stock margin calls. How long until today's gold plunge, the largest 2-day drop in the past 30 years, forces funds to start selling stocks to meet margin clerks vocal demands some time around 2pm today?

John Bougearel of Structural Logic chimes in:

Today is the largest one day decline from the previous day's close @ -9.6%. Volume is already north of 530,000 - another record with another 6 hours of electronic trade to go.   There have been three rounds of liquidations. The first round was the Asian liquidation that ended at 9 am. The second round was the European liquidation that ended at 5 am. They are spaced 8 hours apart. At this rate, the US liquidation phase won't be complete until the London closing at 1230 pm CST, at least this is what that behavioral model suggests. You are witnessing an historical selling climax folks.  Read more >>

Gold, Silver In Asian Liquidation Mode

Spot Gold $1426 (from $1564 highs Friday)

As Asia opens to the bloodbath that occurred in precious metals on Friday in the US, it would appear that more than a few traders got the 'tap on the shoulder'. Shanghai futures are limit-down and spot gold and silver prices are plunging once again as we suspect forced margin-calls and the raising of cash (to cover extreme variation margin - or capital reserves) needed in JGB positions, as we explained here.

Liquidation is certainly the theme of the evening - investors are selling JGBs (6th day in a row of multiple-sigma moves in long-dated Japanese bonds 30Y +56bps off its post-BoJ lows at 1.60%!), selling Japanese stocks (Nikkei -128 pts, second biggest down day post-BoJ), selling US Treasuries (futures down), selling gold and silver (gold spot down over $100 from Friday's highs), and despite selling JPY early (retracing 30% of the weakness post-BoJ), JPY is practically unchanged (jerking lower only on the US futures open and Asian equity open) - it seems Mrs.Watanabe is struggling and unwinding some her excessively short JPY and long NKY positions. Read more >>

China reports another human bird flu death totaling three

An SVG map of China with Zhejiang province highlighted Legend: Image:China map legend.png (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A man in the Chinese province of Zhejiang has died of the H7N9 strain of bird flu, state media said Wednesday, bringing the total deaths attributed to the virus to three since the first human cases.

He was one of two H7N9 avian influenza infections reported in Zhejiang in eastern China, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing local authorities, bringing the country’s total number of cases to nine.

Chinese authorities are trying to determine how exactly the new variety of bird flu infected people, but say there is no evidence yet of human-to-human transmission. The latest fatality was a 38-year-old man who worked as a chef, media website Zhejiang Online said. The province’s other case was a 67-year-old retiree who was being treated in hospital.

Two other deaths have been reported, both in China’s commercial hub of Shanghai. Other cases have occurred in the eastern provinces of Jiangsu and Anhui, the government has said. Read more >>

Two men die in Shanghai in first human cases of bird flu strain

Two mainlanders have died and a third is critically ill after they became the first reported human cases of infection by a lesser-known strain of bird flu. The National Health and Family Planning Commission said yesterday it wasn't clear how the three became infected, but there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission.

The commission said the two men - aged 87 and 27 - died in Shanghai after becoming infected with the H7N9 strain of the avian influenza virus. The 87-year-old died on March 4 and the 27-year-old on March 10, both within two weeks of falling ill, the commission said.

The woman, 35, of Chuzhou, Anhui province, was said to be in a critical condition. She fell ill on March 9 after coming into contact with poultry. The victims showed symptoms of fever and coughing and later developed severe pneumonia and breathing difficulties.

Experts say the virus does not seem to be highly contagious but appears more deadly than other strains of the H7 virus that have previously infected humans. Read more >>

Chinese companies pull out of U.S. stock markets

Just a few years after Chinese companies lined up to sell shares on Wall Street, a growing number are reversing course and pulling out of their U.S. stock exchange listing.

This week, Focus Media Holding, announced its chairman and private equity firm investors want to buy back its U.S.-traded shares and take the Shanghai-based advertising company private. The deal would value Focus Media at $3.5 billion, according to financial information firm Dealogic.
Some Chinese companies say they are pulling out of U.S. markets because a low share price fails to reflect the strength of their business. Withdrawing also eliminates the cost of complying with American financial reporting rules.

The withdrawals follow accusations of improper accounting by some companies and a deadlock between Beijing and Washington over whether U.S. regulators can oversee their China-based auditors.
Washington wants auditors to hand over documentation on companies that are under investigation but Chinese authorities have barred the release of some information. If a settlement is not reached, the SEC could reject audits by China-based firms, forcing companies to find new auditors. Read more >>

45% of China Companies See Slowdown

MarketWatch 
Nearly half of China's listed companies that have so far issued forecasts for the first half expect weaker earnings or losses for the period, according to a Tuesday report in China Daily, which cited financial data provider Wind Information Co.

About 45% of reporting companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges expect weaker results, according to the report. The findings track 845 companies that have issued first-half outlooks as of Sunday, according to Shanghai-based Wind Information.

The report said manufacturing companies along with property developers made up the majority of companies that were expecting a weaker showing for the January to June period.

Shanghai Homeowners Smash Showroom in Protest Over Falling Prices

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeA weekend scuffle in Shanghai over a drop in apartment prices adds to increasing evidence that China’s efforts to tame a surging property market are having an impact – even as it offers a hint of what could happen if the measures go too far.

A group of around 400 homeowners in Shanghai demonstrated publicly and damaged a showroom operated by their property developer after the company said it cut prices. Home buyers had wanted to speak with the developer to refund or cancel their contracts but were unsuccessful, according to local media. One report said the price cuts exceeded 25% per square meter.

The local media reports said an unspecified number of people were injured. The property developer, a unit of China Overseas Holdings Ltd., didn’t respond to requests for comment. Photos of the event showed broken glass in the sales office, homeowners marching with banners and a phalanx of police watching over. More...