A better investment (for most people) would be in a mutual fund or index that is tied to the Chinese economy.
What are some good examples of this?
Reasons to Open a Chinese Bank Account
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Re: Reasons to Open a Chinese Bank Account
#32I don't understand this...are they giving you a better interest rate? Aren't they simply operating as a US bank (if they are FDIC insured). You really aren't investing in the Yuan...
see http://www.bocusa.com/portal/Info?id=649&lang=1&
Can I buy and sell RMB from/to your bank?
Yes, you can exchange USD for RMB or exchange RMB for USD at our bank.
Re: Reasons to Open a Chinese Bank Account
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ditto for the dollar. You're taking a bet on the Federal Reserve's competency in regulating the US economy.
Yeah, and given the results of the past decade I'm inclined to trust the Communists... Not that they're actually communists; they're just a really big national corporation, imho.
I'm not inclined to trust the communists more than the Fed, but I am inclined not to put all my eggs into one basket.
Re: Reasons to Open a Chinese Bank Account
#34OK, that’s the upside from the depositor’s point of view. What is the upside from the Bank of China’s point of view? Given the massive dollar reserves that the Chinese government has accumulated from its trade surplus, why should they sell off renminbi in exchange for even more dollars? If the RMB/USD exchange rate is almost certain to increase, why would the bank want to give up an appreciating asset in exchange for…
Maybe it is a cheaper way to buy dollars? I couldn't find the interest rates on the accounts anywhere on the site.
Re: Reasons to Open a Chinese Bank Account
#35A better investment (for most people) would be in a mutual fund or index that is tied to the Chinese economy.
What are some good examples of this?
Not specifically chinese: VGTSX/VTIAX
Plus, rather than speculating on a currency, you're actually purchasing a piece of a foreign company's productivity.
Re: Reasons to Open a Chinese Bank Account
#36"But will we start banking in a Chinese bank? It's not as crazy as it sounds."
Hasn't HSBC had a fairly significant US/Canada presence for a while?
Re: Reasons to Open a Chinese Bank Account
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
CPI doesn't exclude food/oil, only Core CPI does. http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/CPIAUCSL http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/CPILFESL The only major difference between CPI and Core CPI is that CPI is more volatile than Core CPI. This is why, for the purposes of year on year changes, Core CPI is usually reported. If we didn't do this, we'd get headlines like "OMFG, massive inflation, we are all d…
Fair enough; a misnomer on my part. However, it's disingenuous to tell the US consumers that the core inflation is 1.2%, when their gas price has doubled (from 2009)
You’re misrepresenting the data. Gas may have been $1.616 in Dec 2008, but it was $4.114 in July 2008, and ~$3 in Feb 2008.
http://money.cnn.com/2010/12/23/news/economy/three_dollar_ga...
The price is volatile (especially on either side of a financial crisis).
Re: Reasons to Open a Chinese Bank Account
#38Much like the tech bubble and housing bubble, by the time you read these articles in the mainstream press, it is FAR too late to invest. You've already missed 10-15 years of explosive growth in the Chinese economy.
Re: Reasons to Open a Chinese Bank Account
#39I know this won't be popular, but the whole idea of "diversification" has always struck me as a lame attempt by rich people (Stock brokers) to get more money from poor people. So I roll my eyes whenever a guy with a Rolex and a Porsche is telling me I need to "diversify"
Re: Reasons to Open a Chinese Bank Account
#40Speaking of currencies, I'm wondering if anyone more intelligent than me knows what to make of this: http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?s[1][id]=BASE
To my untrained eyes, it makes the idea of diversifying into anything other than the US dollar seem like a good idea. But to be honest my understanding of the US monetary system gets fuzzier the more I learn about it.