Daily Reading – Monday, April 4, 2011

FT Alphaville: Michael Pettis on China’s useless banks

It’s not a tough analogy, that. Though the idea of comparing an 18th century French bank to modern-day Chinese financials is rather original. It comes to us from Shenyin Wanguo Securities analyst, Beijing nightclub-owner, and all ’round China expert, Michael Pettis.

FT Alphaville: The hidden slide of Japanese business sentiment

The Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan business survey is seen as a vital guide to corporate Japan’s expectations and more importantly, a key indicator of spending and investment plans.

It is also, as MoneySupply once noted, “one of the best bits of economic data in the world: how many other business surveys cover 11,528 companies with a 98.7 per cent response rate?”

FT Alphaville: Some circumstantial copper evidence

Sean Corrigan, chief investment strategist at Diapason Commodities, was the first to detect a correlation between China’s loose monetary policies and copper prices. His basic finding; the greater the amount of loans extended in China, the more copper imports into China.

FT Alphaville: Head in the clouds at Autonomy

Autonomy’s idiosyncratic approach to investors relations continues.

The FTSE 100 software company has chosen to respond to a recent scathing note from JPMorgan analyst Daud Khan not with a quiet phone call, but via the Q&A section of its corporate website.

The Big Picture: WaPo: Anticipating the Next Black Swan

Emergency planning is what we do before an emergency — not during one. Being proactive, rather than reactive, allows you to avoid the emotional mistakes many people make during unexpected events. That is why you look for the emergency exits before takeoff, not when the wings fall off the plane.

The Big Picture: 60 Minutes: The Next Housing Shock

As more and more Americans face mortgage foreclosure, banks’ crucial ownership documents for the properties are often unclear and are sometimes even bogus, a condition that’s causing lawsuits and hampering an already weak housing market.

FT BeyondBRICs: Week ahead: April 4-9

The week opens with the start of a parliamentary inquiry into India’s telecoms scandal. A tide of corruption in the country has led to street protests and threatens to undermine the country’s long-term success.

It ends with presidential elections in Nigeria.

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