By Jack Rasmus What’s happening in China? Is it becoming the locus of the next financial crisis? Some well positioned capitalists are beginning to suggest so, including no less than that guru of global hedge fund and financial speculators, George Soros. The Bank of Central Banks, the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) in Geneva, is saying … Continue reading
By Ellen L. Frost The sudden, sharp fall of Chinese stock prices twice in 2015 and again this month does not necessarily herald a further slowdown of GDP growth. But investor confidence, the bedrock of a healthy economy, has been shaken both in China and throughout the world. As Chinese leaders struggle to implement market-based reforms, … Continue reading
By Bob Hennelly, WhoWhatWhy I. The Year of the Red Monkey, also known as the Fire Monkey, starts next month in China. According to Chinese astrologers, the year will be a real rollercoaster ride, filled with surprise and mischief. And, they say, it bodes well for individual initiative, as opposed to collective effort. Will these predictions … Continue reading
By Peter Symonds The upheavals in global share markets since the beginning of the year have focussed attention on China amid fears that the slump in its stock markets and the falling renminbi (yuan) are symptoms of a far deeper economic malaise. The slowdown of the Chinese economy, which is exposing massive overcapacity in industry … Continue reading
In 2016, investors face a “cataclysmic year” and should “sell everything” ahead of a crash where markets could plunge by up to 20 percent and oil could tumble to $16 per barrel, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is warning. In a recent note to its clients, RBS sounds the alarm and warns investors to “sell everything except high quality bonds. This is about return of capital, not return on capital. … Continue reading
By Charles Hugh Smith All the phantom wealth piled up in China’s boost phase is now melting down, and the China Syndrome will trigger a meltdown in global phantom assets. The 1979 film The China Syndrome took its name from the darkly humorous notion that a nuclear reactor meltdown in the U.S. would burn straight through the Earth to … Continue reading
Economists James Henry and Ho-fung Hung warn that China’s debt-to-GDP ratio above 240% is an indicator that there is a major disconnect between the market and the real economy. The following is a transcript of an interview with the two economists on the Real News Network. SHARMINI PERIES, EXEC. PRODUCER, TRNN: Welcome to the Real News Network. … Continue reading
By John Vibes Amid stock market panic in China, many of the country’s most prominent billionaires are disappearing without a trace. This week, Zhou Chengjian, the chairman of the clothing company Metersbonwe became the most recent wealthy Chinese businessperson to go missing. Metersbonwe said in a statement on Thursday that it would be suspending its … Continue reading
China’s top leadership vowed on Thursday to use targeted policies to combat the “relatively big” downward pressure on its economy, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reports. The Politburo, China’s top decision-making body, said that the nation will keep its macro policies stable, make “pre-emptive adjustments”, and fine-tune economic policies in a timely manner in order to support … Continue reading
By Nafis Alam More turbulence on the Chinese stock market highlights just some of the challenges facing the world’s second-largest economy. Following losses of US$3 trillion in the three weeks from mid-June, the Shanghai Composite has since recorded its biggest one-day fall for more than eight years. It’s clear that regulatory reform is needed in the … Continue reading