China crash: This is China’s Lehman Brothers moment and global liquidity is to blame August 25, 2015 August is the cruellest investment month, once more, and disappearing money flows are again the culprit behind crashing stock markets. The gyrations in global liquidity explain market movements around six-12 months ahead and predict economies over the following year. The problem right now is that despite the well-flagged easing by the ECB and Bank of [...]
Black Monday 2015: China’s central bank cuts benchmark interest rates, European markets rally August 25, 2015 China's central bank has cut one of its key interest rates following a tumultuous day for global markets. The People's Bank of China (PBoC) has cut the one-year benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points to 4.6 per cent – the fifth cut to interest rates in less than 12 months – as the country [...]
US markets S&P 500 and Dow Jones rebound after China crash August 25, 2015 US traders seemed to regain their optimism during the first few minutes of today's session, following a day during which markets across the pond yo-yoed wildly. The S&P 500, which ended yesterday more than three per cent down, rose more than two per cent to 1,931 .5 points in the first minutes of trading, while [...]
Alibaba’s cloud computing arm Aliyun launches “China’s first” artificial intelligence service August 25, 2015 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s cloud computing arm is breaking into the artificial intelligence market, launching what the company is proclaiming to be “China’s first AI platform”, which will give developers the capacity to analyse large amounts of data. Cloud computing division Aliyun is Alibaba’s fastest-growing division, and although the company still gets most of its [...]
Chinese crash: Volatility “fear” indices Vix and VStoxx are peaking well above historical averages August 25, 2015 European markets may be more buoyant today, but if the fear indices are anything to go by, there is still plenty of unrest among investors. The US' Vix index – which measures the market's expectation of 30-day volatility on the S&P 500, as implied by the prices of near-term options – has leaped on [...]
FTSE 100, Dax and Cac rise as hangover sets in after China stock market crash August 25, 2015 After making its worst losses since 2003 yesterday, the FTSE rose almost three per cent per cent in mid-morning trading, nudging back above 6,000. Meanwhile, the Dax rose 3.2 per cent and the Cac rose 3.1 per cent, suggesting that while European markets were nursing a hangover, the worst may be over. The rebound followed [...]
Chinese economic slowdown: Devaluation and volatility should not put off Western retailers August 25, 2015 The surprise decision by the China's central bank to devalue its currency on three consecutive days has been linked to China’s state authorities’ attempts to boost its struggling economy. It is, however, unlikely to cause significant disruption to many Western retailers who are supplying in the region. The correction may have been a gesture to [...]
China stock market crash 2015 : When a correction becomes a buying opportunity – CNBC Comment August 25, 2015 The definition of “Correction Territory” is when a market sees a downward move from a recent high of 10 per cent or more. Being down over 15 per cent since its high in April, for example, the broad-based European Stoxx 600 index is now officially in correction. But with many European stock market indices down [...]
Chinese stock market crash 2015: Money has poured into Japan as Asian markets crumble over China woes August 25, 2015 Money has flowed into Japanese exchange traded funds (ETFs) this year as the market stands out as the last area of safety in Asia. So far this year, overseas investors have piled $16.4bn into ETFs tracking Japan’s stock markets – nearly quadruple last year’s total of $4.4bn, according to data from Markit. The [...]
The bubble finally bursts on Black Monday: Tea, walnuts, garlic, now the Chinese stock market August 25, 2015 Fermented tea, garlic, preserved walnuts, and mahogany furniture. All of these have soared in price at one stage in the last ten years as wealthy Chinese have looked for places to store their assets and make a quick buck. “There are relatively few investment options,” says Mark Williams of Capital Economics. The walnut [...]