The Asian Investor

07 February 2010 0957 hrs

IQALUIT, Canada - Finance ministers from leading industrial nations wrapped up two-day talks Saturday in northern Canada by vowing to continue massive public spending to bolster a shaky global recovery.

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told a closing press conference that he and his G7 counterparts "need to continue to deliver the stimulus to which we are mutually committed, and look ahead to exit strategies."

Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Real estate, stocks, credit. China sure has its share of bubbles. Oddly, little attention is paid to the biggest one of all.

China’s currency reserves grew by more than the gross domestic product of Norway in 2009. Its $2.4 trillion of reserves is a bubble all its own, one growing before our eyes with nary a peep out of those searching for the next big one.

Third Avenue Management recently launched a new mutual fund on August 31, 2009. Normally, it is difficult to get information about a new fund as soon as it opens. However, the company provided information about the fund and its objectives in its recent shareholder letter for Q4 2009, which was able to help me in writing this article.

29th January 2010

from: Che Det by Dr. Mahathir Mohamad

1. It is now more than 10 years since the currency crisis struck Malaysia. Much has been written about the crisis and the controls imposed by the Malaysian Government to stop the devaluation of the Ringgit.

By Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on January 4, 2010

1. Adam Smith wrote about the above title a long time ago (1757). He talked about invisible hands which were instrumental in growing the wealth of nations.

2. In the latest financial crisis in the United States the invisible hands certainly played a big role. It took the form of abuses of the banking, monetary and financial system.