Market

China acknowledges new economic “problems” and promises to address the real estate industry.
27Sep By TheGreenZoneNo 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...
Read More
Why China’s latest stimulus package is insufficient to address the country’s housing issue
27Sep By TheGreenZoneNo 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...
Read More
As per the government’s official estimate, the US economy grew at a pace of 3% last quarter.
27Sep By TheGreenZoneNo 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...
Read More
China boosts markets by promising to provide further economic help.
27Sep By TheGreenZoneNo 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 ...
Read More
Through negotiations on minimum EV pricing, China and the EU want to avert a trade war.
26Sep By TheGreenZoneNo 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...
Read More
Since the epidemic, China’s central bank has unveiled the most powerful stimulus.
26Sep By TheGreenZoneNo 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...
Read More
How China got to be the market leader for electric vehicles and what the US can do to catch up
25Sep By TheGreenZoneNo 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...
Read More
China announces several economic stimulus plans.
25Sep By TheGreenZoneNo 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...
Read More
US Economic Projection
21Sep By TheGreenZoneNo Comments
Market, USA

US Economic Projection

The Q3 2024 forecast indicates how robust consumer spending, high business investment, and lower interest rates have kept optimism about the US economy intact. However, risks like geopolitical tensions and persistently high inflation remain. Despite persistent concerns surrounding the durability of growth and interest rate policy, the US economy remains fundamentally strong. While real gross domestic product growth slowed in the first quarter of this year, growth rebounded to a strong 3.0% in the second quarter. All available evidence suggests policymakers may have managed to bring inflation under control without causing a recession. Deloitte’s baseline scenario remains relatively positive. The boom in factory construction will continue to boost the economy’s potential in the coming...
Read More
An economist claims that China’s economy is undergoing a “slow, painful, grinding adjustment.”
17Sep By TheGreenZoneNo Comments
Asia, China, Market

An economist claims that China’s economy is undergoing a “slow, painful, grinding adjustment.”

SINGAPORE — Following a slew of data released over the weekend from China that painted a fairly bleak outlook for its economy, analysts have tapered their expectations for the country’s full year GDP growth. “There hasn’t been much good news in this latest round of data, and this has been the pattern for the last few months,” said Eswar Prasad, professor of international trade and economics at Cornell University, on CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Monday. “Both the long term issues related to property prices and so on, and the short term issues related to domestic demand in particular, especially private investment and household consumption have not been doing well at all,” Prasad said. He warned that Beijing’s economic outlook for the second half of the year is now “flas...
Read More