World Bank slashes global growth forecast after warning the world is teetering on the edge of ‘stagflation’ Global Growth THE WORLD Bank yesterday slashed its forecast for global growth this year by more than 1 per cent due to increasing inflation and the economic after-effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The body had anticipated global growth of 4.1 per cent at its last update in January, but cut that in an announcement yesterday to [...]
‘Live by the sword, die by the sword’: Chinese plot to take control of Congolese lithium mine could crash Australian firm’s shares Lithium A plot by a coalition of powerful Chinese battery manufacturers, to take control of the world’s biggest lithium mine, threatens to crash the share price of Australian miner AVZ Minerals, a mysterious short seller has said. AVZ Minerals could lose control over the Manano lithium mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and be [...]
Tesla: Workers in Shanghai must sleep on factory floor as China restarts production in 600 companies amid draconian Covid measures Covid in China Shanghai’s Tesla factory workers have to sleep on the floor of the factory, as Elon Musk’s company restarts production and China continues a draconian covid policy. With hundreds of firms restarting operations across China, workers have to abide by a strict policy of living on site, in line with the country’s ‘closed loop’ restrictions, according [...]
Ukraine war is dramatically dialling up risk of global recession April 5, 2022 The war in Ukraine has dramatically dialled up the risk of a global recession, according to leading economist. The conflict has thrown a ‘massive monkey wrench’ into what was a gradually improving post-pandemic picture, Ira Kalish, chief global economist at Deloitte told delegates at the World Retail Congress in Rome. And it could have damaging, [...]
From price inflation and Brexit rows to Evergrande and Biden v Putin: Here are the market risks to watch this year January 4, 2022 The world is a pretty turbulent and unpredictable place at the moment, with Covid variants not making life easier. From tensions between Russia and the US over Ukraine’s NATO membership to Brexit conflicts and China’s Evergrande property scandal, 2022 is set to become everything but dull. So what developments and issues could disrupt or disturb [...]
Early orders and Singles Day boost: Both Chinese exports and imports pick up steam December 7, 2021 European equity markets got off to a solid start to the new week yesterday as investors looked past the negativity of last week and chose to focus on the expectation that the Omicron variant, while more transmissible, may well not be as virulent as the Delta variant that is wreaking havoc across Europe. “Indications so [...]
China mulls cybersecurity review for companies seeking Hong Kong IPO November 14, 2021 China has ramped up its oversight of mainland companies holding data that seek a listing in Hong Kong with a proposed new law mandating a cybersecurity review. Under the the new draft regulation, published by China’s cyberspace regulator today, officials would impose a cybersecurity review on such companies if a listing is deemed to have [...]
China exports surge despite port disruptions at regional lockdowns November 8, 2021 Asia markets have got the week off to a quiet start this week, with the latest China trade data for October giving a mixed insight into the world’s second biggest economy. The last couple of months have proved to be “fairly resilient” ones for China trade, despite disruption at Chinese ports, and the various lockdown restrictions [...]
‘No Sino-phobes’: UK will not ‘pitchfork’ business from China despite Hong Kong and human rights October 19, 2021 Boris Johnson has told the Chinese business community the UK has no intention to “pitchfork away” investment from China despite ongoing differences with Beijing over human rights and Hong Kong. Ahead of the Global Investment Summit in London, later today, the Prime Minister said China would continue to play a “gigantic part” in UK economic [...]
Debt payment by Evergrande eases market jitters over messy default September 22, 2021 Evergrande said today it will make a payment due on a domestic bond, easing jitters over a messy default, for a little while at least. Watch the full report.