Sorry off-topic
From Chedet.com

ECONOMIC INDICES AND THE WEALTH OF NATIONS
By
Dr. Mahathir Mohamad
on April 23, 2009 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (58) | TrackBacks (0)
(This is the first instalment in a series on the trends that led to the present financial crisis)

///1. We all believe that the great economically developed countries achieved prosperity through their genius in economic management and their skills in business. They are also seen to be able to govern their countries well.///–TDM

In addition they are advanced in science and technology which enable them to produce goods and services that people from the less developed region rely. Medicines are mainly produced in the advanced countries and so are medical equipment. We cannot deny that. As for the ability to govern, Singapore has at least proved to be better than Malaysia.

///2. They had developed various indices to indicate the level of prosperity they had achieved. And gleefully they compared these indices, especially per capita incomes and Gross Domestic Product, with those of the poor countries, to show how competent they were in the management of their economies. The poor are poor because they did not learn how to manage their countries. They should be regarded as failed states.///– TDM

The indices are not developed by the developed countries to indicate the level of prosperity they had achieved. The indices are technical measurement developed by the statistical agencies, and it is the Statistics Office of the United Nations that coordinates with the national statistical agencies around the world to develop a common measure for economic analysis.

///3. The claim by the rich that they were good in management and governance is only partly true. They did produce goods, provide services and they traded domestically and internationally. But their wealth from these activities is not as big as they made out to be. If the per capita and GDP are based only on these real businesses they would not be as rich as they claim to be. Certainly the United States and Britain would actually be nearly bankrupt.///–TDM

Data on GDP are based on hard facts and reliable statistical surveys. GDP data the world over are based on the System of National Accounts which was last revised in 1993. The MPS system of national account based only on products adopted by Russia and its allies ceased to be applicable since the 1990s. What is certain is that the figures on GDP, even from Malaysia are quite reliable. Of course the statistics of percentage share of corporate ownership owned by Malays as produced by EPU has remained at 18.9 percent for the past decades. The omission and manipulation of the corporate ownership data which EPU produced is the worst statistical lies ever produced by mankind.

///4. What has sustained their high indices is their genius at gambling and manipulating money. It is this which had earned them huge profits and enabled their people to enjoy a very high level of prosperity.

5. Take the stock market for example. The money made in playing the stock market has nothing to do with real business. Usually the dividends paid out are very small, being based on the original share value. Thus if the shares were initially valued at one dollar, a five percent dividend would be only five cents./// –TDM

The purpose of the stock market is to allow entrepreneurs the facility to raise capital to produce goods or services which they were not able to do on their own resources, but they had good projects which are beneficial to consumers. But the use of the stock market has been thoroughly abused right within this country. There are over 1000 public listed companies in the country and they have certainly satisfied the relevant authority (God knows how) to have them listed. But of these how many have satisfied the test that they have good projects for the benefit of consumers. Malaysians could use satellite disk to watch whatever programmes we wanted that are produced overseas. But since we are not allowed to install satellite disk for whatever reason the government chooses to justify, Astro is able to have the monopoly to channel overseas programmes, and we have no choice but to pay through our nose for Astro programmes. The stock market allows monopoly when the interested parties in the government work hand in glove with the private sector. The owner of Astro is called a tycoon not because he had invented anything new for the benefit of the people. But the government used the authority of licensing to make whoever the powers-that-be want to make them rich. Malaysia might have its stock market badly abused more than in other countries.

///6. But if the demand for the shares is great the one dollar share may be valued at very many times the initial share price. If the “market price” of the share is five dollars, a five per cent dividend would give the shareholder only 0.5% or half-cent dividend for each share bought at five dollars. That is not likely to make the shareholders rich.///–TDM

The demand and supply of shares depends on its earning potential; it could be dividend or capital gain. It certainly has nothing to do with whether the company is national project, like national car, and people pay out of ‘loyalty’

///7. It would be better to put the money in fix deposit and get a four per cent interest i.e. on five dollars one would get 20 cents in interest.

8. However, if the value of the shares appreciates say from five dollars to six dollars the return on the five dollar investment would be one dollar or 20 per cent. But the real worth of the business in assets term will not be as reflected in the market value or capital.

9. If the business fails then it would fetch only a fraction of the market price should it be liquidated.

10. On the other hand the assets may be worth far more than the depreciated market price. By then the investors in the shares at market price would have lost much of the money invested.///–TDM

Buying and selling shares for profit is for those who have the capital, the knowledge and foresight. Some people enjoy swimming but others can’t even swim, and there were those who were drowned.

///11. If a buyer buys up all the depreciated shares, he would make a good profit selling off the assets and liquidating the business. This is not really business, though some do buy to do asset stripping. After that there would be no more business to contribute to the GDP.///– TDM

Slater Walker made great profit through asset stripping because he had the ability to do so. There was no restriction on the purchase, and if others had the ability, competition would have raisen the share price. Selling off assets allow reorganization of the company which might made the constituent establishments more efficient. Efficiency in the resultant business units contributes to increase in GDP.

///12. What is clear here is that the share prices have nothing to do with the business being done. Even when the business is profitable the very high share prices do not really reflect the market value or profitability of the business. The share prices are really artificial. The shares, basically the pieces of paper have become commodities on their own.///– TDM

The pieces of share certificates are not commodities which could be consumed. They are like currency notes as a store of value except that they depend on market value. The share prices cannot move the volume of business except that it might influence the availability of loan facilities. One the other hand business of the company affects share prices. Share prices are linked to the productivity and profitability of the companies, and they are therefore not artificial.

///13. Yet investors can become very rich buying and selling the shares. Of course they can also lose all their invested money.

14. The share prices are also subject to manipulation. Through short selling the prices can be pushed up or down. Again the movements of the share prices have nothing to do with the real business being done.///– TDM

That too is true in real life where the strong considers it his right to bully the weak. But manipulation might not succeed against the might of financial power the country has.

///15. The stock market has degenerated into a casino where bets are made which may have nothing at all to do with the businesses. This gambling in the rich countries can be far bigger than the worth of the companies listed in the stock market. Yet this wealth from non-business will get into the calculation of the per capita income and GDP.

16. But this is not the only non-real wealth which pushes up the per capita and the GDP of the rich countries.///– TDM

It has been said that the stock prices in Malaysia rise just before general election so that UMNO could get the money from the market to supplement the costs of their election campaign. That was not manipulation, what is?

///17. I will follow this up with other wealth which are the result of shuffling papers.///–TDM

Why would not Malaysian government create wealth by shuffling papers?