February 26, 2010

US Securities: Top Buyer is China


They could have been selling US Treasury bonds but in spite of that, China remains  the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury debt.

The Treasury Department announced that under annual benchmark revisions released on 26 February 2010, China's holdings of U.S. Treasury securities stood at US$894.8 billion at the end of December, keeping it in first place ahead of Japan.

On Feb. 16, the government reported data that showed China had been surpassed by Japan.

However, the government said in the new report that those figures did not account for purchases by Chinese investors in such places as Britain.

When those purchases are taken into account, the government said that China's holdings in December grew by $139.4 billion above what was reported on Feb. 16.

That increase put China back into first place as the top foreign holder of U.S. Treasury securities at $894.8 billion followed by Japan, now back in second place, at $768.8 billion.

The revised figures represent the annual revisions Treasury makes based on a more detailed report of the actual foreign holdings of the Treasury debt.

That survey revised the figures through June 2009, and those more accurate figures were used to update the monthly reports through December 2009.

The revised figures did show that China reduced its holdings in December compared with November, a drop of $34.2 billion.

However, with the more accurate assessment of the actual ownership of the securities, the levels of China's holdings were much higher than expressed in the report two weeks ago.

The replacement of China by Japan as the largest foreign holder of Treasury securities when it was reported two weeks ago had raised worries that China was carrying through on comments it made about diversifying its holdings based on rising concerns about America's soaring federal budget deficits.

Some economists had seen the change in China's position as a warning signal that the biggest holders of U.S. debt were starting to dump those holdings.

Such a development could dramatically increase the interest bill the federal government must pay to finance its deficits and also drive up the cost of borrowing for U.S. businesses and consumers.

On Feb. 1, President Barack Obama released a budget plan that projects the deficit for this year will total a record $1.56 trillion. That would surpass last year's record of $1.4 trillion deficit, reflecting a severe recession that has cut into government revenues and increased spending to stabilize the banking system and jump-start the economy.

Flipping Fantastic: Other Minor Characters

Apart from the twin's Mum, let us at least get to know who the other minor characters  of 'Flipping Fantastic' are.There are four of them.


Kiara Jones:

Tristan's friend whom he met at an Under 11s tournament. She pushed Tristan's wheelchair to the refreshment bar during that summer tournament.

James is also interested in making friends with her. She plays football for the County Girls' Under 11s team. James knows that Kiara is going to Highfields as well and hope to make friends with her during football practice.

James believes that Tristan will be jelaous if he only knew that James was also attracted to her.

To ensure that James will look forward to attend Highfields, Tristan has phoned Kiara  to help her brother James adapt to the new school. This lead to James making many new friends.

Mr Sewell:

He is Tristan and James's English teacher at Peter Hill Primary. Tristan felt that Mr. Sewell is a great teacher who taught him the lines of the play," The Adventures of Tom Sawyer".

Mr. Sewell carries Tristan on stage for him to act  in  the play.

Mr Sewell assuaged James that no one heard his stutter when he read his seven word line of the play.

Jessica Parker:

This girl laughed at James for stuttering with his line i n the play making James quite unhappy. James is thankful that this girl is not going to Highfields for her secondary school education.

Tristan informs James that Jessica laughs at him only to attract his attention. James does not like Jessica one bit and hopes there will be girls at the new school who will be attracted to him.

Mrs. Roberts:

She was Tristan's Maths teacher. He likes her and considered her as a nice teacher. She is also Tristan's  favourite teacher.

Flipping Fantastic: Mum,the Minor Character

So what do we know of the minor characters of 'Flipping Fantastic'?


There are few of them but the twin's mother is a prominent minor character as she provide integral inputs into the conflicts of her two sons as they grew up, went to Peter Hill Primary and now on the threshold of secondary school education.

Let us look at the character of the mother, her role in this short story and her perspective on the unfolding events.

The first thing we gathered about this lady is she is proud of her sons. She has only positive things to say about them. She is always in an encouraging mood to spur them on.She likes to look at the 'big picture' of things.

Let us analyse the language that she used of her son's performance in the play on the last day of term at Peter Hill Primary. She says in no uncertain terms of the pride she has of her two boys as they are 'stars' of the show. Actually, it is not so, Tristan is the star as Tom Sawyer  but not James who had only a one liner which he fumbled as well. For a mother blinded by love, any thing that James does is seen in a positive light. For example, she said that the very fact that James had to stand in front of the audience and said his line, even though, with a little stutter, was superb! She supported her views further as James lack confidence and is shy and that he had acted in the play was sufficient to bring joy to her heart.


Mum is observant and discerning. As her relationship with the boys is fast, she can sense their moods easily. The fact that both the boys, especially Tristan was very quiet during the summer holidays worried her.She wonders whether her decision to send them to separate secondary schools was a mistake.

In fact, the boys are both struggling with this issue. They reflected the joys they had at Peter Hill Primary; how the have helped each other all along at school and at home, their co-dependence and potential concerns at their new schools if both went to separate schools.

Mum is a very strong lady. She wanted Tristan to be independent physically and James to grow up in confidence by not depending on his brother, Tristan.

As a concerned parent, she asked Tristan whether he was still happy to go to Chesterlea Grange and found that he was not too happy. Against her better judgment, she could have enrolled Tristan to Highfields as well in order to ensure both boys are happy but she did not. However, she let the boys discuss the issue openly.

As the story unfolds, Tristan thought through the pros and cons and despite being cajoled by James to go with him to Highfields, 'stuck to his gun' and went to Chesterlea Grange. He made a matured decision. Meanwhile, he arranged with his friend, Kiara Jones to help James get used to Highfileds for the first few days. How considerate of Tristan. He really knows how to allay his brother's initial fears.

Mum was anything but sad. If fact, she was elated to find the two boys loved their new schools.

Mum has foresight. She had used wisdom in selecting the schools for  her boys,ensuring they will become independent  and  best of all has allowed Tristan the flexibility of decision making after discussing with his brother James.

Its' a classic, "All Well That Ends Well" for this proud Mum.

Flipping Fantastic: The Tristan Crisis

Let us look at another passage in the short story called,"Flipping Fantastic" by Jane Langford.


Tristan:

Mum just asked me if I really want to go to Chesterlea Grange! Is she joking? Of course, I don't want to! I want to go back to Peter Hill. It's safe there,and friendly and everybody knows me.The thing is, when I went to Chesterlea Grange on the Open Day,it seemed so much fun. I liked the horse-riding,swimming and wheel-chair games best.Every summer, they hold an event like the Paralympics.They have archery contests,wheelie marathons and basketball tournaments. I've never had the chance to take part in sports like that.


James has always been the one in our family who's good at sports.I'd really like it if it was  me for a change.


Now, I 'm confused! I don't know what to think. I told Mum that I didn't want to go to Chesterlea Grange anymore. What have I done? I bet that right now she is fixing for me to go to Highfileds with James! (Pg31)

This passage is very important in this story.

It tells us the conflict that Tristan is going through after telling his Mum that he does not want to go to Chesterlea Grange. He reflected on the comfort of Peter Hill Primary that he is used to and the people who knew him. Peter Hill was safe and friendly. He felt nostalgia here.

He then reflected to the Open Day at Chesterlea Grange and all the physical sports and events he would be able to  participate. How he longed to be a sportsmen of sorts like his brother James.

He is very confused of what he wants. In a way he regretted telling his Mum about his decision not to proceed to Chesterlea for his secondary education.Was he too hasty in doing so. He is now afraid, his mother will be enrolling him at Highfields. Has he prompted this move?

We all know that Tristan finally knew what he wanted for himself. He prioritized his needs and became matured and realistic. He knew why his mother wanted him to go to the special school. He recalled her determination to push him to do what he is capable of doing. Chesterlea Grange could be the platform for his independence from home, James and his disabilities. Chesterlea Grange has his first love drama and will actually help him to actualise in amny other ways.

Once Tristan confirmed his decision to go to Chesterlea Grange, then things started to fell into place and it was a happy ending for him,James and their mother.