To play the role of the master of Fueng-shui, the ancient Taoist geomantic art of China, is none other than economist Philip Chow, an analyst at Asian financial brokerage firm CLSA and an expert on the maritime industry.
Combining his knowledge of the markets and ancestral divination, the broker gave his prediction on the future of the world economy on the day when begins the 4079th year of the Chinese calendar, under the sign of the Dragon. This mythological animal has long been a symbol of the figure of the Emperor and, in general, despite its ferocious appearance, it is considered auspicious.
Generally, indeed. Why the Dragon, according to Chow, is also the bearer of great changes and this can mean, in an already fragile environment such as that of international finance, "devastating experiences and enormous disappointments".
So, what will be the economic future of the next 12 months (Chinese)? First consideration by the broker-guru: the association of the Dragon with water, as per oriental tradition and as it happens in the first half of the year according to the Feng-shui cards, is less propitious than that with fire or metal. It would in fact mean that the gigantic animal will remain for the first six months with "the head under the water", and that is, as an obvious consequence, that the Stock Exchanges will record a constant negative trend in the same period.
The trend will reverse only from July onwards thanks to the influence of fire and metal, which they will invigorate the Dragon and consequently the markets. However, all of them (Drago and the markets) will return underwater between November 2012 and January 2013, ending the Chinese year in the negative.
But is all of this believable? The Feng-shui art was originally invented to choose the most suitable places to bury the dead. In its modern version, it has become more and more ancillary to architecture, as a discipline for the furnishing of closed spaces. Applying it to the Stock Exchange therefore seems at the very least risky.
On the other hand, just look at the forecast for 2011, the year of the Rabbit: it foresaw small leaps forward (just like the ones a rabbit does?) and instead, as we have all seen, the markets have done nothing but plummet lower and lower. To name two, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 19%, while Piazza Affari did even worse with -25% over the calendar year.
But Philip Chow really believes it, and ventures two other suggestive predictions. The first: financial flows will increasingly be oriented from east to west: China's enormous and growing wealth will increasingly be invested in the Old World; and in a year dominated by water and woods, the gaming, maritime transport, tourism, fashion and above all construction sectors will do well.
But above all, hear this: the coming year will be terrible for those born under the (Chinese) sign of the "forest horse", considered a symbol of determination, strength, patience and persuasiveness. Guess who was born under this curious sign? No less than German Chancellor Angela Merkel. We will see some good ones.
Read also Le Monde
