France recently halted its solar subsidy program for 3 months for solar installations under 3 kw as it was deluged with a large number of applications.Solar Feed in Tariffs are quite generous for certain type of solar panel installations like BIPV and greenhouses.This combined with rapidly falling solar panel prices primarly due to low cost Chinese manufacturing has made the business extremely lucrative.Note France is not the first country to see a massive flood of solar applications.Spain,Czech,Germany,Australia have faced problems with solar feed in tariff programs mainly because of poor design by slow moving bureaucrats.However most of these countries have never blamed cheap Chinese panel imports for their badly designed programs.Germany which is the undisputed solar market leader did for a while raise the Chinese bogey but it was for a short while.Anyone with a little understanding of the solar industry would know that almost 50% of the value is created in installation which is all done locally.Also most of the polysilicon raw material is made in the West as also most of the equipment used in producing panels in China.

Dongfang Electric Corporation,China’s largest power equipment producer has bagged major contracts in India.Dongfang Electric is the 3rd biggest Wind Turbine Producer in China as well and has managed to bag a 276 MW $203 billion WTG supply contract with Abhijeet Group .This is the first major contract wind in the Wind Equipment Sector for a Chinese company and could be start of a major trend.Dongfang has also won a small a massive $2.5 billion contract to supply 6. GW of super critical coal equipment to KSK Energy. Note Chinese companies have become the low cost leaders in the Wind Equipment Industry and sell much below Western competitors.At almost $700,000/MW,the Turbine order is a steal for the Abhijeet Group and cannot be matched by Indian or Western players.Leading WTG companies from the West like Vestas and Gamesa are reeling from Chinese competition and slowdown in Western markets.Suzlon too has been affected as Korean shipbuilders and Chinese wind producers have become major players.Using domestic content requirements and technology transfer,Chinese companies have become top global producers from zero presence just 5 years ago.

The Dollar is being relentlessly attacked by Bears due to massive QE program unleashed by the US Fed.However the US Dollar continues to be a safe refuge in many parts of the world.For countries affected by major politicial and economic problems,dollar is looked upon a safe haven for capital preservation.Many of these places have a history of high inflation and major political upheavals.In these places,Gold and Dollar are looked upon as equals for preserving wealth during times of chaos.Vietnam serves as a reminder where even citizens of relatively fast growing stable economies look upon as Dollar as a rock of stability.The South East Asian country has seen high inflation in recent times and numerous devaluations of its currency.The Communist led country has tried to replicate China in many of its policies some of which have backfired.The recent scandal and debt default of a major government owned company has shaken the confidence of investors.With high inflation and depleting foreign reserves

India’s Agriculture Sector account for only a miniscule percentage of GDP and growth,however most of India’s population continues to depend on it.Despite rapid growth of the services and industries sector as globalization leads to assimilation of foreign technology and practises,agriculture continues to live in medieval times. India’s Food Supply Chain leads to massive waster and inefficiency with 30% of India’s vegetable and fruit produce being wasted.This is criminal in a country where most of the children go hungry.However corporatization has been repelled by vested interests leading to a the sorry situation.Food inflation has seen double digits since last year and despite a better harvest year,some food prices are touching the stratosphere.The inadequate supply chain leads to periodic shortages of key food items used by Indian as part of the daily diet.

India’s top leaders don’t have to suffer from the daily travails of monstrous transport problems as their security convoys have the roads cleared for them.Even a minor functionary has red lights blazing on the top of their security cars and flouting all traffic rules as policemen salute and clear the way.There is no concern about the plight of normal people who on top of the daily traffic jams have to face an additional ordeal due to the stoppage of vehicles for the passage of the VIP entourage.Even ambulances and emergencies are not spared as a person died of a heart attack after getting stuck for 30 mins.Note people dying in traffic jams has become a normal thing in India these days as serpentine traffic jams make it almost impossible for ambulances to transport time critical patients on time.Indian cities have become traffic hells as motorists fail to follow any traffic rule or regulation.Policemen trying to correct errant drivers are frequently beaten up by taxi/auto unions .Red lights are not followed by a lot of the vehicles and traffic rules exist only on paper.Huge numbers of casualties are reported every year which are easily preventable.But for a totally corrupt bureaucracy and police,these problems are not a concern at all.

Rare Earth Metals promise to be a continuing geopolitical drama for the coming few years as Chinese monopoly over these crucial raw materials continues.Japan has already been at the receiving end of a Chinese exports embargo once and has its companies scattering to secure rare earth mineral resources in varied places like India,Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Vietnam.Hitachi is looking to increase recycling of rare earth minerals while other companies too are looking to optimize and reuse these metals.USA is currently less susceptible to rare earth disruptions as its requirements are quite low and anyway it imports most of the products using rare earth in finished form.