China looks like an accident waiting to happen, in our view. Chinese policymakers have decided to broaden the base of financial institutions required to comply with 21.5% reserve requirements, which will effectuate a further tightening of liquidity. A collapsing term structure of interest rates and a sharp slowing in both narrow and broad liquidity suggest this tightening process is well underway.
We would also point out that China’s EMBI debt spreads widened to 218 bps last week from a 2010 low of 26 bps. Although many believe China’s policymakers will simply “flip the switch back on” like they did with a massive monetized fiscal binge in 2009, we would suggest they cannot do so without creating further imbalances that will have to be unwound down the road.
The Federal Reserve was only able to manage one soft landing (1995) in nearly six decades of post-war monetary policymaking. Yet, somehow, many believe Chinese policymakers – with much cruder tools and a far less sophisticated financial system – will be able to unwind a decade-long liquidity and credit boom seamlessly. We wouldn’t count on it.
http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2011/08/29/chinas-an-accident-waiting-to-happen-darda/