Investors seem to ignore the real world
©Reuters No one can be strong when China is weak. That, at least, appeared to be the message from the economic data this week. New data suggest lacklustre growth in…
Market bulls run into the sand
©Getty Global investors grew skittish on Thursday as concerns about reduced central bank easing and slower growth in China rattled Japan and other markets that have registered large gains this…
Chinese solar industry seeks tariff deals
©Reuters Chinese solar-panel makers are seeking separate trade settlements with the US and the EU to avoid steep tariffs in their biggest markets. The negotiations are being pushed by a…
China factory output hits seven-month low
©Getty BEIJING, May 23 – China’s factory activity shrank for the first time in seven months in May as new orders fell, a preliminary survey of purchasing managers showed, adding…
Chiefs talk up India-China trade target
©AFP Li Keqiang with Tata Group’s Cyrus Mistry and N. Chandrasekaran Amid all the talk of closer business ties between Asia’s two great emerging economies, Monday’s inaugural meeting of the…
China property boom not abating
©Reuters At the end of March, China’s newly installed premier Li Keqiang publicly reiterated the government’s determination to rein in rising property prices and a resurgent investment binge in the…
China pledges boost to India trade
©AFP Li Keqiang, Chinese premier, pledged on Tuesday to open China’s markets to Indian goods to help narrow India’s gaping bilateral trade deficit and boost mutual commerce between the two…
Thai slowdown adds to Asia gloom
Thailand’s economy grew more slowly than expected in the first three months of this year, adding to a slew of recent disappointing data from other Asian economies that have cast…
China’s national problems start locally
The structural slowdown in China’s economy is starting to cause waves in Beijing, prompting trenchant questions about what the government should do about it. Premier Li Keqiang has recently played…
Global economy lacking demand growth
©Getty Christine Lagarde, the IMF managing director, captured a sense of fragmentation last month when she spoke of a “three-speed” global economy. On this week’s evidence, however, there are even…