City A.M. TV: A market snapshot (video) July 2, 2021 US markets have continued their grind higher this week with the S&P500 eking out gains on all four trading sessions so far. Across the globe, though, the strength in other equity markets has been less marked: In the Euro zone most equity markets have traded sideways or even lower over the course of June; in [...]
China crackdown sends Bitcoin tumbling below $30,000 June 22, 2021 The price of Bitcoin tumbled below $30,000 for the first time since January, wiping out all its gains for the year. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency plummeted by as much as 12 per cent to $28,893 on Tuesday, after China’s central bank intensified a crackdown on cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has fallen 50 per cent from its April peak [...]
The damning case against China over Covid-19 deserves proper attention June 1, 2021 As John Stuart Mill so eloquently wrote: “the only thing necessary for evil to triumph in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.” Fortified by this moral admonition, I went on to write an April 2020 piece in CapX, charging the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with direct culpability in the spread of [...]
Growth narrative may shift as pre-pandemic challenges reappear May 10, 2021 Two major events took place in the world’s two largest economies recently that have the potential to directly impact us here in the UK. The first is the passage of President Biden’s $1.9trn stimulus bill in the US last month. The second is the recent meeting of the National People’s Congress in Beijing. Taken together, [...]
China records best ever GDP growth in post-Covid bounce-back April 16, 2021 China’s economy grew by the fastest rate in its history as the country left last year’s lockdowns far behind. The world’s second biggest economy saw GDP grew 18.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2021, compared to the same period the year before. It is the fastest rate of growth since China began tracking [...]
Global growth narrative set to shift as pre-pandemic legacy issues resurface March 16, 2021 You may have missed what happened in the US and China over the past week but two major events took place in the world’s two largest economies that have the potential to directly impact us here in the UK. The first is the passage of President Biden’s $1.9trn stimulus bill in the US. The second [...]
Hong Kong electoral reforms prevent “dictatorship of the majority”, says pro-Beijing lawmaker March 6, 2021 Beijing’s proposal for Hong Kong electoral reforms could prevent “dictatorship of the majority,” a pro-Beijing Hong Kong lawmaker said, calling people who want one man one vote “politically immature.” China’s rubber-stamp parliament is deliberating plans to overhaul Hong Kong’s electoral system to ensure Beijing loyalists are in charge. Hong Kong representatives to China’s parliament, in [...]
China sets new growth target above six per cent March 5, 2021 Prime Minister Li Keqiang announced the new six per cent economic target today at the opening of this year’s National People’s Congress, and pledged to create more jobs in China’s cities. This marks a return to strong economic growth after China’s economy was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic last year. In 2020 the economy only [...]
FTSE 100 bounds ahead despite housebuilders taking a tax hit while US stocks soar February 10, 2021 FTSE 100 bounds ahead despite housebuilders taking a tax hit
Chinese consumer still ‘cautious’ despite impressive 6.5 per cent Q4 growth January 18, 2021 This morning’s economic numbers showed that the Chinese economy expanded by 6.5 per cent during Q4, with the last three months suggesting that economic activity had more or less returned to normal. Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst, Asia Pacific at OANDA, called China’s industrial production rise of 7.3 per cent “impressive.” “Made in [...]