Market

China acknowledges new economic “problems” and promises to address the real estate industry.
27Sep By Online DeskNo Comments
China, Market

China acknowledges new economic “problems” and promises to address the real estate industry.

Beijing has this week unveiled a raft of measures to boost its ailing economy, which it has targeted to grow five percent this year -- an objective analysts say is optimistic given the many headwinds it faces. On Thursday, the ruling Communist Party convened a meeting of its top body, the Politburo, to "analyse and study the current economic situation". "Some new situations and problems have emerged in the current running of the economy," the Xinhua news agency reported after the meeting, which was attended by Xi. "We must view the current economic situation comprehensively, objectively and calmly, face difficulties squarely, (and) strengthen confidence," it added. Politburo members agreed on the need to "further improve the focus and effectiveness of policy measures" aimed at...
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Why China’s latest stimulus package is insufficient to address the country’s housing issue
27Sep By Online DeskNo Comments
China, Market

Why China’s latest stimulus package is insufficient to address the country’s housing issue

China's all-out stimulus package will fail to meaningfully reverse ongoing chaos in the nation's property market, JPMorgan said in new research. Though Beijing committed on Tuesday to reduce mortgage rates and downpayment rules, the bank said these efforts will not bolster housing consumption as hoped. "These measures are unlikely a game changer," strategists led by chief China economist Haibin Zhu wrote. "Hence we maintain a cautious view on near-term housing market outlook." For years, high debt and low demand have stalked China's housing sector, and both issues have proven near-impossible to shake. These conditions have led to massive developer defaults, and even notched comparisons to the 2008 financial crisis. Since Chinese real-estate accounts for as much as&nb...
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As per the government’s official estimate, the US economy grew at a pace of 3% last quarter.
27Sep By Online DeskNo Comments
Market, USA, World

As per the government’s official estimate, the US economy grew at a pace of 3% last quarter.

The American economy expanded at a healthy 3% annual pace from April through June, boosted by strong consumer spending and business investment, the government said Thursday, leaving its previous estimate unchanged. The Commerce Department reported that the nation's gross domestic product the nation's total output of goods and services growth picked up sharply in the second quarter from the tepid 1.6% annual rate in the first three months of the year. Consumer spending, the primary driver of the economy, grew last quarter at a 2.8% pace, down slightly from the 2.9% rate that the government had previously estimated. Business investment was also solid: It increased at a vigorous 8.3% annual pace last quarter, led by a 9.8% rise in investment in equipment. The U.S. economy, the world...
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China boosts markets by promising to provide further economic help.
27Sep By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market

China boosts markets by promising to provide further economic help.

China’s leaders have vowed to intensify fiscal support for the world’s second-largest economy, fuelling markets with hopes of more intervention just days after the central bank announced the biggest monetary stimulus since the pandemic. The politburo, led by President Xi Jinping, pledged on Thursday to “issue and use” government bonds to better implement “the driving role of government investment”, in comments that come as analysts warn that China is in danger of missing its official economic growth target this year. The politburo usually does not hold economic sessions in September, suggesting “an increased sense of urgency” about growing deflationary pressures, Morgan Stanley analysts said. But they said China’s government did not yet appear to have reached a “whatever it takes” moment ...
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Bargaining chips: Taiwan’s implications of the Vance Doctrine
26Sep By Online DeskNo Comments
Market, USA, World

Bargaining chips: Taiwan’s implications of the Vance Doctrine

Donald Trump’s selection of JD Vance as his 2024 running mate has disquieted America’s security partners in Europe and Asia. If America’s 45th president returns as its 47th and a Vice President Vance holds sway, the implications for Europe are clear. Vance argues that President Joe Biden’s arming of the Ukrainians has passed the point of diminishing returns and that it distracts from America’s challenge of greatest import: China’s rise. But while Vance has called for a focus on Asia, what exactly a Vance-inflected foreign policy would mean for the region is not obvious. Vance’s well-documented body of thought on American society, governance, and strategy offers some clues, however, on how he would approach China, Taiwan, and related questions. The theme that ru...
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Through negotiations on minimum EV pricing, China and the EU want to avert a trade war.
26Sep By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market

Through negotiations on minimum EV pricing, China and the EU want to avert a trade war.

BERLIN — Brussels and Beijing are engaged in intense 11th-hour negotiations on Chinese electric-vehicle subsidies, raising hopes in Germany that EU duties — and a wider trade war — can still be avoided, officials familiar with the talks said. The discussions are an attempt to solve an ongoing dispute over Beijing’s subsidies for Made-in-China EVs, which the EU says are artificially lowering prices and making it impossible for its own industry to compete. Under discussion is the idea of setting voluntary minimum prices that would offset the market-distorting Chinese subsidies, thereby rendering the planned EU duties moot. One official described the concept as a “surcharge“ that would balance out the Chinese state aid. A meeting between Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao an...
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Since the epidemic, China’s central bank has unveiled the most powerful stimulus.
26Sep By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market

Since the epidemic, China’s central bank has unveiled the most powerful stimulus.

BEIJING, Sept 24 (Reuters) - China's central bank on Tuesday unveiled its biggest stimulus since the pandemic to pull the economy out of its deflationary funk and back towards the government's growth target, but analysts warned more fiscal help was vital to hit these goals. The broader-than-expected package offering more funding and interest rate cuts marks the latest attempt by policymakers to restore confidence in the world's second-largest economy after a slew of disappointing data raised concerns of a prolonged structural slowdown. But analysts questioned how productive the People's Bank of China's liquidity injections would be, given extremely weak credit demand from businesses and consumers, and noted the absence of any policies aimed at supporting real economic acti...
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25Sep By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, World

The world economy is stabilizing, but it is still weak. These are the main economists’ predictions for the economy.

The global economic outlook is stabilizing amid continuing economic uncertainty. The World Economic Forum's September 2024 Chief Economists Outlook found that a majority of chief economists (54%) expect the condition of the global economy to remain unchanged over the next year while more than a third (37%) expect it to weaken. “There are reasons for cautious optimism such as an easing of inflation and evidence of the resilience of global commerce,” the report notes. “Yet, if the economy is stabilizing, it is doing so at the weakest level in decades.” The Chief Economists Outlook, published three times a year, surveys leading chief economists from across industries and international organizations. The latest edition explores key trends in the global economy, includi...
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How China got to be the market leader for electric vehicles and what the US can do to catch up
25Sep By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market

How China got to be the market leader for electric vehicles and what the US can do to catch up

The U.S. blinked, and China built an electric vehicle empire. "They're taking over the world, except North America," said Lei Xing, a Chinese auto industry expert. "The U.S. will be the last frontier." In the last 15 years, China has rolled out a public charging network over 10 million strong, convinced billions of drivers to go electric by dangling subsidies and other incentives, and introduced over 100 EV brands with a bevy of pricing options. The push exemplifies "China Speed," a term Xing used to describe the country's hypersonic development. The speed and scale of the shift has slingshotted China past the U.S. and every other nation in the transition to electric vehicles, while also positioning Chinese automakers near the front of the pack to dominat...
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China announces several economic stimulus plans.
25Sep By Online DeskNo Comments
China, Market

China announces several economic stimulus plans.

China's central bank has unveiled a major package of measures aimed at reviving the country's flagging economy. People's Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Pan Gongsheng announced plans to lower borrowing costs and allow banks to increase their lending. The move comes after a series of disappointing data has increased expectations in recent months that the world's second largest economy will miss its own 5% growth target this year. Stock markets in Asia jumped after Mr Pan's announcement. Speaking at a rare news conference alongside officials from two other financial regulators, Mr Pan said the central bank would cut the amount of cash banks have to hold in reserve - known as reserve requirement ratios (RRR). The RRR will initially be cut by half a percentage point, in a move ex...
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