Michael Ashley Schulman | Source | Founding Partner and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at Running Point Capital ...

The postponement has caused anxiety locally, but most outside investors have already abandoned Zimbabwe’s currency, said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer and partner at Running Point Capital Advisors.
“The major concern for people in the country is that if Zimbabwe does switch to a gold backed currency, they will do it at an exchange rate favorable to the new currency and unfavorable to citizens, thus leading to a further last minute devaluation,” Schulman said. “In other words, if you have Zimbabwean dollars, you want to spend them as quickly as possible on something tangible.”
Having a gold backed currency won’t necessarily stop future devaluations from occurring, Schulman added. “The government can still print money and change its currency ratios.”
Bloomberg News, March 22, 2024

One strategy China employs to combat its flagging economy is selling off its vast surplus of manufactured products at reduced rates.
“Certainly, companies like TEMU and Shein are gaining market share and undercutting the dollar stores and other retailers in the U.S.,” Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at California-based Running Point Capital, told The Epoch Times.
According to Mr. Schulman, while the impact of China’s exported deflation has somewhat reduced “with the [post-pandemic] economic decoupling” in the U.S., “that could drastically change if BYD, or other Chinese electric vehicle makers start selling their vehicles in the U.S.”
Experts believe that given China’s global leadership in manufacturing sectors such as batteries, solar, drug intermediaries, and many more products, whenever the country’s manufacturers compete head-on, middle-market companies globally face margin pressure and sharp price drops for some inputs.
“We watch the currency exchange rate between China and the U.S. carefully to understand and measure this effect,” Mr. Schulman added.
“One of the main things on our radar is if Donald Trump wins the presidential election in November, he may raise tariffs further on Chinese imports, thus lessening their deflationary effect,” said Mr. Schulman.
Internally, to fight domestic deflation or disinflation, Beijing needs to boost consumer confidence in order to increase consumer spending across all income levels, he added.
The Epoch Times, March 1, 2024

“China’s crisis-mired property market remains a key concern, with weak sales, default risks, and a consensus among major financial institutions projecting a continued slump in 2024. Despite government efforts, the pessimistic outlook signals ongoing economic challenges,” Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at California-based Running Point Capital….He adds that while recent initiatives provided short-term respite, investors are nonetheless concerned about long-term economic prospects. Six months of straight outflows, “totaling $30 billion in foreign institutional sales of mainland Chinese equities,” suggest ongoing worries.
The Epoch Times, Feb 27, 2024