Former US Federal Reserve Chief Alan Greenspan has been promoting his book "The Age of Turbulence" for the last couple of weeks. Among other things, he is talking about his reasons for supporting the Iraq invasion and his assessment that the Chinese stock market is a bubble waiting to burst. On the question of his support for Iraq invasion, he explains that he was convinced Saddam Husain would block the Strait of Hormuz if not removed from power and that would have severe consequences for the world economy. I think he's just flat wrong on this reasoning. Other than the US or Europeans, the only power that had the capacity to close the Strait is Iran. The removal of Saddam has, in fact, strengthened Iran significantly and made it more likely that the Strait would be closed and oil supplies choked off in the event of war in the Persian Gulf involving Iran.
On the question of Shanghai stock bubble, he is more qualified than most but I still think he is wrong. The Chinese economy is very strong and growing rapidly. China is the factory of the world and it is developing a very large consumer class of its own with a pent-up demand not too different from the US consumer demand right after WW II. So the Chinese markets are backed up a strong economy to justify high valuation of its stock.

Views: 144

Comment by Riaz Haq on March 3, 2012 at 9:43am

Here are "Ten Things for India to Achieve its 2050 Potential", brought out by Jim O'Neill, Head Global Research at Goldman Sachs, and Tushar Poddar, V-P Research, Asia Economic Research Team at Goldman Sachs India, as reported by India's Economic Times:

1. Improve governance

2. Raise educational achievement

3. Increase quality & quantity of universities

4. Control inflation

5. Introduce credible fiscal policy

6. Liberalize financial markets

7. Increase trade with neighbors

8. Increase agricultural productivity

9. Improve infrastructure

10. Improve environmental quality

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/3137357.cms

Comment

You need to be a member of PakAlumni Worldwide: The Global Social Network to add comments!

Join PakAlumni Worldwide: The Global Social Network

Pre-Paid Legal


Twitter Feed

    follow me on Twitter

    Sponsored Links

    South Asia Investor Review
    Investor Information Blog

    Haq's Musings
    Riaz Haq's Current Affairs Blog

    Please Bookmark This Page!




    Blog Posts

    Nepal Tragedy Raises Fears of Massive Glacier Melt in Pakistani Mountains

    Northern Pakistan is home to over 13,000 glaciers which pose a risk of catastrophic flash floods similar to the recent flash floods in Nepal. Pakistani officials have warned that shifts in glacier behavior are increasing the risk of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF), particularly in Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where communities face growing exposure to sudden flooding and landslides. …

    Continue

    Posted by Riaz Haq on August 29, 2026 at 8:04pm — 1 Comment

    AI on Wheels: My Experience With Tesla Full Self Drive (FSD)

    Recently, I saw a news story suggesting that “more and more seniors are using Tesla FSD (full self drive)”. This prompted me to share my own experience with my readers.

    Tesla FSD Warning



    My wife and I have been regularly using Tesla Full Self…

    Continue

    Posted by Riaz Haq on August 24, 2026 at 5:00pm

    © 2026   Created by Riaz Haq.   Powered by

    Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service