China Mobile (CHL) closed at $48.01. CHL February put option implied volatility is at 24, June puts are at 30, versus its 26-week average of 33, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

China-Unicom (CHU) closed at $13.04. CHU February option implied volatility is at 33; April is at 37; below its 26-week average of 50, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

PetroChina (PTR) closed at $130.51. WTI Crude Futures are recently up 1.40% to $83.91 according to Bloomberg. PTR February put option implied volatility is at 31, March puts are at 30; below its 26-week average of 37 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Options Update: Major Chinese Conglomerates Volatility Low originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Inflationary fears and the desire to generate higher returns in non-dollar assets should boost BRIC stocks (Brazil, Russia, India and China)," says Chuck Carlson in his The DRIP Investor.

"Despite the run-up this year, BRIC stock markets are still reasonably valued. Russia, India, and Brazil all trade at price/earnings ratios similar to the U.S.

"And while China's stock market does trade at a premium to the U.S., China's economic growth will swamp that of the U.S. this year and for the foreseeable future.

Continue reading 'Compelling case' for China and India

'Compelling case' for China and India originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Those surprised by the market's strength in recent weeks should be even more impressed with the rebound in China, where both their market and economy have proven among the most resilient in the world.

Global specialist Nicholas Vardy adds, "While the US markets are rising, Asian stocks are on fire." ETF expert Paul Tracy adds, "China funds have screamed to the top of the performance charts."

In large part, this strength is due to the country's stimulus program. Tracy points out, "To combat the sagging global economy, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao orchestrated a massive 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus package.

Continue reading Investing in China: 12 experts pick their best bets

Investing in China: 12 experts pick their best bets originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 May 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Dell teams with China Mobile for its new wireless handsets

Dell teams with China Mobile for its new wireless handsets originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

China Telecom (NYSE: CHA) is recently up $2.51 to $35.85. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will announce a stimulus package during his annual address to the nation's legislature on Thursday. CHA is a provider of wire line telecommunication services in China. CHA March option implied volatility is at 67; June is at 62; near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

China Mobile (NYSE: CHL) is recently up $3.17 to $44.66. CHL over all option implied volatility of 58 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price fluctuations.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Options Update: China-tele volatility flat into Chinese premier's annual address originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A long-term developing trend in Asia, according to international investing expert Yiannis Mostrous, is a rise in domestic demand within their own economies.

In Personal Finance, he looks at one favorite sector that will benefit -- wireless phone services -- and highlights two of his top choices, Chunghwa Telecom (NYSE: CHT) and China Mobile (NYSE: CHL).

"The current crisis will lead to profound changes in the global financial system. Societies in developed economies will begin to save more, while people in developing nations will begin to spend, nurturing domestic demand economies.

"The Asian economies should be able to move even closer to their ultimate economic goal: domestic demand-led economies.

"These countries have realized that factory building and manufacturing to satisfy consumer needs in the developed world can't remain their primary growtth engine.

Continue reading China telecom and wireless favorites

China telecom and wireless favorites originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Baird upgraded Starwood Hotels (NYSE: HOT), Host Hotels (NYSE: HST) and Marriott (NYSE: MAR) to Outperform from Neutral based on valuation and indications that negative sentiment has reached a bottom.
• Citigroup upgraded Torchmark (NYSE: TMK) to Buy from Hold as they find the valuation attractive and think management can grow earnings and book value in 2009/2010. Despite upgrading, the firm lowered their target price to $37 from $45.
• ASM International (NASDAQ: ASMI) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
• Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) was upgraded at Natixis to Buy from Hold.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: HOT, GOOG, WPI, LYG ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: HOT, GOOG, WPI, LYG ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

On a day when many telecom stocks were hit with downgrades, China Mobile Limited (NYSE: CHL) distinguished itself this morning by scoring an upgrade. Goldman Sachs raised its rating on CHL from "sell" to "neutral," while simultaneously trimming the stock's price target from HK$95 to HK$90. The price-target cut echoes a similar move made by Citigroup on Sunday; the brokerage firm cut its target on CHL from HK$120 to HK$100.

In response to today's mixed analyst comment, CHL is down more than 7% at midday. The equity has shed about 42% year-to-date, and its lengthy decline could prompt additional price-target cuts during the short term. According to Thomson Financial, China Mobile shares are trading about 60% south of their average 12-month price target of USD $81.01.

Today's upgrade from Goldman comes as CHL is approaching former support at the $44 level. This region buoyed the stock in early 2007 and earlier this month, which suggests that it could once again provide a floor for the shares. Unfortunately, though, the stock is also looking up at stiff technical resistance from its 10-week moving average, which means China Mobile might find itself bouncing sideways in the weeks to come. Or -- even more troubling -- a continued drop in the share price could spark an unwinding of widespread optimistic sentiment.

Continue reading China Mobile scores an upgrade, but plunges on price-target cut

China Mobile scores an upgrade, but plunges on price-target cut originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple's iPhone may be coming to China Mobile originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Growth investors can hitch their portfolio to any number of Asian stars; I think one big winner is going to be China Mobile (NYSE: CHL)," says Tony Sagami in his specialized Asia Stock Alert.

"Mobile phones are much, much more than telephones to Asians. If you travel to Asia, one of the first things you'll notice is how most locals walking down the street have mobile phones glued to their ears.

"It would be a big mistake to think of China Mobile as simply a mobile phone provider. In addition to traditional calling services, the company offers value-added services such as voice mail, conference calling, instant messaging, text messaging, as well as accessing the Internet.

"Even though the price of computers has fallen dramatically in the last few years, a personal computer (PC) is still out of financial reach for the average Chinese. Meanwhile, mobile phones are both cheap and capable of many of the same functions as PCs.

"Look, $500 to $1,000 dollars for a PC may seem reasonable to you and me, but that is a small fortune for the typical Chinese consumer, who makes less than $3,000 a year.

Continue reading China Mobile (CHL): More than just talk

China Mobile (CHL): More than just talk originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: General Motors, Anheuser-Busch and GlaxoSmithKline were today's noteworthy downgrades.

• Citigroup downgraded shares of General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) to Hold from Buy to reflect reduced earnings power and cash burn risks and recommends swapping into American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc (NYSE: AXL).
• Deutsche Bank cut Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc (NYSE: BUD) to Hold from Buy on valuation following the recent rally spurred by takeover speculation. The firm believes the reported $65/share cash takeover offer by Inbev requires aggressive cost reduction and could harm the brands.
• Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of GlaxoSmithKline Plc (NYSE: GSK) to Underweight from Equal Weight as they see risk to Street expectations for a U.S. Cervarix approval in 2009.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Wachovia downgraded Old Dominion Freight Line Inc (NASDAQ: ODFL) to Market Perform from Outperform.
• Lehman downgraded Yara International (OTC: YARIY) to Equal Weight from Overweight.
• Goldman downgraded China Mobile Limited (NYSE: CHL) to Sell from Neutral and added shares to the Conviction Sell List.

Analyst downgrades: General Motors, Anheuser-Busch, GlaxoSmithKline originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 May 2008 12:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

China Mobile drops as China restructures telecom industry originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 May 2008 12:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Vodafone, AstraZeneca and Forest Oil were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Bear Stearns upgraded shares of Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) to Outperform from Peer Perform on valuation, as they believe the stock trades at a discount to peers.
  
• AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) was raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup to reflect the potential for higher sales of the company's Crestor cholesterol pill.
  
• Jefferies upgraded shares of Forest Oil (NYSE: FST) to Buy from Hold and raised their target to $63 from $50 following the company's "bullish" analyst conference.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Pharmasset (NASDAQ: VRUS) was raised to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded China Mobile (NYSE: CHL) to Buy from Hold.
  
• Morgan Keegan upgraded RadNet (NASDAQ: RDNT) to Outperform from Market Perform.

Analyst upgrades: Vodafone, AstraZeneca and Forest Oil originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that analysts are looking to assess the significance of a new accounting problem at American International Group Inc (NYSE: AIG) which includes "material weakness" the company's auditor found that relates to subprime exposure.
• China Mobile Limited (NYSE: CHL) is expected to announce its support today for Long Term Evolution, a wireless broadband standard gaining strong momentum as the next-generation wireless technology for providing super-fast web surfing on cellular phones, the Financial Times reported.

• According to the Associated Press, Petroleos de Venezuela SA said it has stopped selling crude oil to Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM). The decision, made "as an act of reciprocity" for Exxon's "judicial-economic harassment," will also include the suspension of commercial relations with the U.S. company.

• Reuters reported that The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) signed a deal to buy 20% of Net TV, a digital television company controlled by Spanish media company Vocento.

Newspaper wrap-up: PDVSA cuts Exxon Mobil off originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Global expert John Christy combines Asia and technology in the latest fund recommendation in his Forbes International Investment Report.

"Our latest buy is Matthews Asian Technology Fund (MATFX), which has been added to our Global Core and Asia-Pacific Portfolios. While there's plenty of uncertainty in global markets at the outset of 2008, the tech sector and Asia's economies both look well-positioned to weather the storm.

"The Matthews Asian Technology Fund gives you the best of both worlds. With $245 million in assets, the fund has delivered annualized returns in excess of 25% over the past five years. It invests in a mixture of both large-cap and small-cap companies, with varying degrees of exposure to 'technology.'

"Some holdings, like Chinese search engine Baidu.com and the Japanese social networking site Mixi, are pure technology plays, whereas Korea's Samsung Electronics and Japan's Sony fall into the more mature camp of consumer electronics.

"Telecom is also among the fund's biggest holdings, with China Mobile and India's Bharti Airtel among the top 10 holdings. That means the fund won't always deliver eye-popping returns, but it offers a bit more protection on the downside."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

Matthews fund combines Asia and technology originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• According to the Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street," bears believe it may be too early to bargain hunt among financial stocks, as they think there may be more bad news to come after Citigroup Incorporated (NYSE: C) announced it took an $18B write down in Q4.
• Analysts who follow China's telecom sector believe there are a few prime picks, including China Unicom Limited (NYSE: CHU) and China Mobile Limited (NYSE: CHL), but are advising investors to think long term, the Wall Street Journal reported.

• Iron ore talks with China's Baosteel have come to a halt after the company and its peers said price demands from miners BHP Billiton Limited (NYSE: BHP), Rio Tinto PLC (NYSE: RTP) and Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (NYSE: RIO) were "far too high," the Australian Financial Review said.

• MiningMx.com reported that BHP Billiton has reached an "impasse" with South Africa's government over the conversion of the company's exploration leases to new order mining rights.

Newspaper wrap-up: More bad news to come for financial stocks? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Jan 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

According to management at the world's largest cellular carrier, China Mobile (NYSE: CHL), talks to sell the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone have ended. Reuters reports, "News that the two telecom giants were in talks over the device's potential launch in the world's largest telecoms arena helped Apple's stock climb more than 10 percent on November 13."

It would be easy to say that the iPhone will not be in China soon because Apple wants revenue-sharing agreements that the Chinese think are too one-sided in Apple's favor. Or, the phone's $500 price is too high for an emerging market. China does have a large middle class, so that excuse may be thin.

What is probably more accurate is that China Mobile does not need the iPhone and can afford to walk away from a partnership. Unlike cellular carriers in the U.S. and Europe that are facing market saturation, China Mobile has over 350 million subscribers. But that is not a large number compared with the country's overall population. It does not need one "hot" phone to keep growing.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Apple's iPhone to stay out of China, for now originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Jan 2008 09:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is not making the kind of headway it would like to in China. It still runs far behind local search engine Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) in market share. Reuters thinks it has the road-map for the US company and it involves Google "linking up with local partners, navigating draconian regulations and understanding Chinese tastes."

Easily said.

Google is not allowed to bring in its Google News product and use it to any effect due to censorship regulations. In the meantime, Baidu has been allowed to start its own news service. Local copyright rules do not allow the US company to offer its free music search function.

Companies like China Mobile (NYSE: CHL) are controlled by government regulators and the large cellular provider can pick which search functions it allows on its handsets. It can also set fees for software providers like Google and set them very high.

Reuters points out that the Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) MSN product in China is part of a joint venture that is run by the son of a former Chinese president.

All of this seems a bit sordid, and perhaps it is. Google, however, has to decide if it is willing to go to extraordinary lengths to move into the big market, or keep some of its dignity and take what market share it can get through normal business practices.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Google's (GOOG) China problems originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 26 Nov 2007 10:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The head of China Mobile (NYSE: CHL), by far the largest cellular carrier in the world, indicated that he is talking with Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) about marketing the iPhone. MarketWatch reports that the two companies "would have to iron out differences over revenue sharing."

China Mobile currently has about 350 million subscribers, so a deal with Apple could boost the consumer electronics company's stock to even higher levels than its recent record peak. But a deal with China Mobile might bear very different results from those in the U.S. and Europe.

With the iPhone priced at just below $400, it may be an item that users in the West can afford. It remains to be seen whether the expensive handset's appeal would be strong in China. But there is a large middle class in the country, and that could drive demand.

Apple will open its first retail store in China soon. It does have modest sales for iPods and Macs there. One of the things that could undercut the company's effort to sell iPhones is that counterfeiters have already created their own versions, which are much less expensive than the real thing.

But, knowing Apple, the financial onus for selling the handset will be on China Mobile, with the U.S. company getting a cut of the calling plan revenue. So Apple has very little to lose.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Does China Mobile want the iPhone? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Nov 2007 04:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Markets in Asia took a beating as the Hong Kong Hang Seng fell 5%. Key China stocks moved down sharply. China Mobile (NYSE:CHL) fell 7%. China Petroleum (NYSE:SNP) fell over 10%.

The Shanghai Composite fell 2.5%.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Flash: Asia markets pulled down as Hang Seng falls 5% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Nov 2007 03:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.