Zeev's Turnips Patch-No Politics (ZEEV)

[Fred Langford]

10:34 ET China govt comments to reign in growth hurting metal/coal sector : Reuters reports that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said today that China needs "very forceful" measures to cool its fast-growing economy. Wen said that inflationary pressure was building in China due to a surge in money supply, bank credit and fixed asset investment. "We're focused on and are aware of this issue. We need to take effective and very forceful measures to resolve those problems as soon as possible." They have restricted the amount of money banks can lend out, clamped down on steel, cement and aluminum projects, and tightened land-use rules to keep industrial expansion in check. Outisders have been saying that China needs to reign in growth, but these are the most forceful statements from a Chinese official directly, which is spooking the market... Metal and coal stocks are being especially hard hit by the govt's comments: gold -4.0%, aluminum -2.7%, steel -2.2%. Metal Stocks: FCX -5%, GLG -5%, GG -4%, NEM -4%, N -4%, AL -4%, AU -3%... Coal stocks: MEE -3.2%, ACI -2.6%.