China index: Bond boom drives rebound 5 May 2016 Breakingviews’ Tea Leaf index leapt to a 20-month high in March as stimulus kicked in. Exports and property investment grew at the fastest rate in over a year. Increased pollution points to busier factories. But by far the strongest factor was record issuance of corporate bonds.
China index: Xi’s annus horribilis 1 Feb 2016 Breakingviews’ Tea Leaf Index may have ended the year on a modest high, but a look back over 2015 shows China’s economy moving slowly. Sagging steel production, exports and rail freight contributed to the lowest 12-month average since President Xi Jinping first took office.
China index: Economy suffers winter blues 29 Dec 2015 Our index climbed a little higher in November, but underlying data gave little cause for cheer. Exports and rail freight volumes tumbled, investment in residential property suffered the steepest fall since Breakingviews records began in 2008, and pollution hit a 13-month high.
China index: Time to clear the air 7 Dec 2015 While President Xi Jinping visited Paris for climate talks, Beijing was choking on a toxic haze. Yet our index shows the Chinese capital’s infamous smog is lifting as the economy slows. Environmental policy can only become more ambitious: dirty industrials face tougher times.
China index: Slowing down on the home front 2 Nov 2015 The old growth engines are running out of steam. Rail freight and steel production dropped in September, while investments in new property fell for a second consecutive month, a first in our data set. It’s a stark reminder that times have changed.
China index reveals economy of two halves 12 Oct 2015 Breakingviews’ refreshed Tea Leaf Index shows the world’s second-largest economy running at different speeds. A shift towards tech, services and consumer goods should make for more sustainable growth. But traditional drivers like heavy industry and construction remain weak.