New CBS/New York Times poll on Chinese imports

It's a hot topic of conversation and in case you missed it, CBS News and NYTimes conducted a poll after the recent recalls to see how they affected the public's views on imported goods from China. The poll was taken between Oct. 12-16. The poll is on imported goods, not goods sold in China. 14 percent of Americans have stopped buying goods from China, and 7 percent have stopped buying some items. Although, 9 percent said they don't normally buy goods from China. Older Americans were more likely not to buy.

The poll also found that 41 percent of Americans think the quality of Chinese products are at least good (11 percent said excellent). 36 percent said fair. 20 percent said poor.

Chinese producers still have a ways to go in selling their products in the US market. Although sales volumes of imports from China have been good at US retailers, producers need to understand the US market better.

The poll does show, however, that the recent spate of recalls hasn't dented American attitudes much toward goods from China. The Times says that the poll results haven't differed much from past polls in 1991 and 2000.

Earnings & Coffee Time

With earnings season underway, both for US and Chinese companies, what I as an investor will be seeking is direction on how various companies plan to grow their business and assess their stock values. Some companies are very reasonably valued, others I definitely would like more info on. That's why I look forward to earnings seasons, aside from the possibility that a company or companies may beat analyst expectations. What I find a lot of companies, US and Chinese companies, could work on is beating investor expectations in terms of discussing their strategic direction.

As an example, last year I was listening to the webcast of the earnings release by Starbucks, a company that has a growing presence in China. I have to say that as an investor, I wasn't expecting a lot in terms of the company discussing its plans- most companies it seems don't go into much detail. But I was surprised by what I heard. Starbucks' presentation went into detail about its plans for China as well as the US and other countries. One of Starbucks' high level managers in China presented and expressed his view on market conditions and market acceptance for the brand and for coffee.

I'm hoping other companies will do as Starbucks did. Note- I'm not a current investor in Starbucks, but I use its example as just that, hoping that this earnings season will produce good info for investors as well as the analysts.

Today's China Digital (STV) IPO

Raising $192 million for development/R&D, marketing expenses, etc. China Digital started the day with shares priced at $16. With high demand for shares and a favorable market today, the stock (STV) opened at over twice that. As with some recent IPOs, profit-takers quickly sold with the stock ending the day below the opening price, closing at $28.

What's interesting is what may have drove demand for the stock. Compared with other IPOs of late, STV had been a relatively unassuming company operating in the digital television (DTV) industry. China Digital provides systems for DTV networks using conditional access, which controls access to content and services and blocks unauthorized access. Part of the interest in STV, as with other China stocks, is that it operates in China with the market's growth potential for consumer and industrial goods and number of consumers.

A Reuters report today cited a managing director of an IPO advisory firm in the US saying that "having the middle class being the fastest growing sector in China, allowing the capability for such a 'luxury', very much works to this IPO's favor and increases it allure."

How the middle class is defined though may depend on your criteria. A lot of consumers in China don't make a lot of money yet, although there are a growing number of people who have rising incomes comparable to what some middle class people in countries like the US are making. It'll be interesting to follow this IPO. Also STV's customers aren't directly Chinese consumers, so its success will depend on its products and service to DTV networks, as well as how digital TV does in China.