China

13Jun By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, World

June 2024 Fed meeting: Fed maintains current policy rate and sees only one rate cut in 2024

Key takeaways During its June meeting, the Federal Reserve (Fed) unanimously voted to hold policy rates steady for the seventh consecutive time, leaving the Fed Funds Target Rate unchanged at 5.25% to 5.50%. The much-anticipated Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) broadly met expectations with a higher inflation forecast for 2024 and less easing this year; The median FOMC member called for one 25 basis point cut by the end of this year and four 25 basis point cuts in 2025. Within the Fed’s economic projections, the most significant update was the expectation that core inflation will move to 2.8% for year-end from 2.6%. This increase is likely due to strong first quarter inflation. Chair Powell underscored that the Fed’s decision on the direction of rates continues to b...
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<strong>The chip war is stealing the residual thunder from the Chinese economy</strong>
12Jun mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, USA

The chip war is stealing the residual thunder from the Chinese economy

The Chinese economy is in the doldrums. The post-pandemic bounce back was too brief to sustain. Consumer sentiments are low. The common Chinese are investing in gold instead of stocks and other financial instruments in an apparent show of distrust in the country’s economic trajectory. Beijing reported 5.2% growth in 2023 but the Rhodium Group analysts questioned the credibility of the numbers. Rhodium offers China-specific research. On top of all, China’s plan to be a technology superpower is seriously harmed by tough restrictions imposed by the US-led West in denying Beijing access to cutting-edge microchip technology. Microchips are the nerve centre of any modern machinery. From mobile phones, and automobiles to aeroplanes everything runs on those printed circuits on a small piece of...
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<strong>MERICS report claims Chinese investments in Europe in 2023 fell to the lowest in 13 years</strong> 
12Jun mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, China

MERICS report claims Chinese investments in Europe in 2023 fell to the lowest in 13 years 

Chinese investment in Europe last year dropped to the lowest in 13 years since 2010, according to an annual report published on June 6 jointly by independent research provider Rhodium Group and German think tank e Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS). As per the report, Chinese direct investment (FDI) in Europe (defined here as the EU-27+UK) slipped again to EUR 6.8 billion last year (2023), from EUR 7.1 billion in 2022, and it was the lowest level since 2010. The report shows that Chinese corporate investors faced challenges and uncertainties last year from a mix of political and economic factors in Europe and globally, while uncertainty about the global economy impacted the investment environment for Chinese firms, amid rising geopolitical tensions that inc...
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<strong>Business closures surge as Foreign Capital flees China</strong>
6Jun mmBy Michael SmithNo Comments
Asia, China, Market

Business closures surge as Foreign Capital flees China

China is currently facing a significant economic challenge. Foreign capital, once a major driver of the country’s growth, is rapidly withdrawing. This shift is triggering a domino effect, leading to widespread business closures. Furthermore, salary cuts across various sectors are becoming increasingly common, adding to the mounting economic pressure.Foreign capital is withdrawing and a wave of business closures is sweeping across the country accompanied by a further spread of salary cuts and wager arrears within the system throughout China. By late May public servants in various parts of the Mainland told new Tang Dynasty television that waves of layoffs, salary cuts or job losses have become common place in State owned Enterprises leaving many without a guaranteed livelihood. Miss Xiao, ...
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31May By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, World

Has investment banking lost its appeal among graduates from China’s elite schools?

In April, six months into an internship at an investment firm in Beijing, 24-year-old Wang Xuan (pseudonym) was told by Human Resources (HR) that he would not be offered a full-time position. Wang was unexpectedly calm when he got the news, remarking: “I anticipated this.” Signs of trouble emerged last year. He had come across reports of job cuts within the sector and got wind of discussions in the pantry regarding unpaid bonuses from the previous year. Senior colleagues openly expressed a desire to “lie flat” and resign themselves to the possibility of being laid off. Wang sighed, “Longtime employees might receive a retrenchment package of up to a million RMB. With that sum, they can afford to take a gap year and recharge. But for fresh graduates like us, it’s all about facing the ...
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Foreign ministers from China and Saudi Arabia debate the Ukraine problem.
31May By Online DeskNo Comments
China

Foreign ministers from China and Saudi Arabia debate the Ukraine problem.

BEIJING - China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud where the two exchanged views on various subjects including the Ukraine crisis, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday. The two agreed that holding a Ukraine peace conference should have equal participation of all parties, and fair discussion of various proposals. Reuters reported China will not attend a Ukraine peace conference to be hosted by Switzerland next month. "China will continue to promote peace talks and play a constructive role in promoting a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis," Wang said, according to a statement. (Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Writing by Bernard Or; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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May Manufacturing Declines in China as Property Crisis Worries
31May By Online DeskNo Comments
China

May Manufacturing Declines in China as Property Crisis Worries

Factory activity in China suffered an unexpected fall in May, as the country’s long-running property crisis continues to undermine business and consumer outlook. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday showed that the official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) dropped to 49.5 in May from 50.4 in April. The disappointing number, below the 50-mark separating growth from contraction, was well under analysts’ forecast of 50.4. It adds to a series of recent indicators showing the $18.6 trillion economy is struggling to get back on its feet, eroding optimism seen after better-than-expected output and trade data. ALSO SEE: After Chips, China to Pour Millions Into Solid-State Batteries “I think the data particularly reflects soft domestic demand, the housing...
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<strong>A new wave of “shared economy” emerges out of the Chinese economic blues</strong>
31May mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China

A new wave of “shared economy” emerges out of the Chinese economic blues

In the face of China's escalating economic crisis, its citizens are innovating to survive. Businesses are adapting, and communal living spaces are emerging as a response to soaring rent costs. Despite the Chinese Communist Party's attempts to stimulate the economy, the impact has been negligible. The advent of the "new sharing economy" has seen the rise of shared storefronts, employees, and even beds, as a means to mitigate costs. The disparity between the official narrative and the lived reality is stark, revealing a nation grappling with economic turmoil, caught between its aspirations and the harsh economic realities. In the first quarter of 2024 China's official GDP data showed a growth of 5.3% but this figure starkly contrasts with the sentiments of the people. Despite the Chinese...
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29May By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, World

China hands rare death sentence to former senior banker for taking US$151 million in bribes

Former manager Bai Tianhui is the second China Huarong official to receive the ultimate penalty, after his former boss was executed in 2021No mention was made of Bai’s intention to appeal the court’s ruling, which is unusually severe in Chinese corruption cases A court in eastern China delivered a rare death sentence on Tuesday, after finding that a former senior banker accepted bribes worth more than 1.1 billion yuan (US$151 million) in his role with one of the country’s top four state asset managers. Bai Tianhui, former general manager of China Huarong International Holdings (CHIH), took advantage of his position to aid others in the acquisitions and financing of projects in exchange for the huge sums, the court found. A report on the Secondary Intermediate People’s Court of Ti...
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29May By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, World

Georgian Finance Minister, delegation of China’s Export-Import Bank discuss cooperation

Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili on Wednesday discussed economic and trade cooperation with China with a visiting delegation of the country’s Export and Import Bank state policy bank. The meeting comes as part of intensified ties between the two governments, who signed a strategic partnership agreement in July last year. The Georgian Ministry said the meeting with the delegation also featured Ekaterine Guntsadze, the country’s Deputy Finance Minister.
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