Is China fragile? It could well surprise us – CNBC Comment August 4, 2015 WITH earnings season in full swing, China remains the buzzword – but for all the wrong reasons. As analysts who have questioned the strength of the world’s second-largest economy start to look a lot less like Cassandras, the question remains: when will the Asian powerhouse stabilise? Short answer: it’s tough to tell at this stage. [...]
Commodities in freefall as China faces slowdown August 4, 2015 Mining stocks were dealt a body blow yesterday, with one index dropping to a 13-year low, as Chinese manufacturing PMI data dragged the commodities market down yet again. The data, which came out yesterday morning, showed that the downturn in China’s manufacturing sector intensified at the start of the third quarter. Production was cut at [...]
China stocks suffer biggest one-day drop since the financial crisis July 29, 2015 There was more pain for investors in Chinese equities overnight after the stock market suffered its biggest one-day fall since February 2007. China's main Shanghai Composite Index shed 8.5 percent, to 3,725.56 points, while the CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen plunged 8.6 percent, to 3,818.73 points. Read more: Are Chinese equity markets a bubble [...]
FTSE 100 erases gains for 2015 amid China stock market meltdown July 29, 2015 Britain's blue chip index erased its gains for the year, falling 1.2 per cent to 6,500.54 points this afternoon. The FTSE 100 had closed at 6,556.10 at the end of 2014, although it rose as high as 7,100 in April. The index started the day flat – shrugging off falls in the share prices of companies such [...]
China runs down currency reserves as economy cools July 27, 2015 Capital is flooding out of China’s economy as it continues to cool. Analysts at Goldman Sachs have estimated capital outflows reached $224bn (£144bn) in the second quarter. The Chinese central bank is also reportedly running down its foreign currency reserves to keep the renminbi stable. “As it stands reserves are being liquidated to support the [...]
With Greece, China and rate rises heightening fears, will this be a bad summer for investors? July 23, 2015 Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says Yes It has been a pretty bad summer for the stock market so far – and we would have to have a belter of a month in August for the FTSE to claw its way back to the 7,000 mark. I do not see the macro worries [...]
The end of China’s migrant miracle could see global asset prices plunge July 22, 2015 China’s meteoric economic transformation has brought billions of workers out of poverty and into the global labour market. But recent discussion has raised the possibility that China’s “migrant miracle” (fuelled by the influx of people from the countryside to work in the cities) could now be over as the so-called “Lewis point” is reached – [...]
China’s unravelling: Will it devalue the yuan next? July 16, 2015 China could be gearing up to join the global currency wars by devaluing the renminbi. So far this year more than 30 central banks from all over the world, including South Korea and Australia, Canada and Hungary have cut interest rates – which works to weaken their currency. Since the global financial crisis, central [...]
China’s stock market crash: Liberalisation cannot be fully controlled July 12, 2015 Visiting China last week to discuss finance with regulators, officials and industry people in Beijing and Shanghai was a timely reminder of the country’s economic vitality. All the facts confirm this – China is the world’s second largest economy (probably the largest on a purchasing power parity basis), and it is growing at twice the [...]
China introduces new rules for brokerages to combat stock market rout July 12, 2015 China's regulator for securities has issued new rules for brokerage firms as part of its attempt to stabilise markets following a spate of sell-offs that wiped trillions of dollars worth of value from Chinese equities. Read more: How China has tried to calm stock market chaos The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has instructed brokerages to [...]