By John Richardson IT DIDN’T matter if there was any truth behind the stories people used to tell each other about the Chinese economy as it underwent an unprecedented period of growth in 2009-2014. All that mattered was that a lot of people were making a lot of money as petrochemicals and polymers sales volumes […]
Asian Chemical Connections
China Overlooked Lending Data Down 64% As Economic Slowdown Continues
By John Richardson FAR too little attention is still being paid to China’s lending data even though this has long been the key measure of whether its economy is accelerating or slowing down. In January 2014, lending in China started to slow down as China’s recently appointed president, Xi Jinping, exerted his authority. At that […]
China Shadow Lending Down By 70% With Deleveraging To Continue
By John Richardson The ABOVE CHART shows that lending via China’s shadow banking system fell by no less than 70% in January-February 2018 over the same period last year. This follows the 90% year-on-year fall in January 2018. The latest data underline the key conclusion that lending via the highly speculative shadow lending system is […]
China Shadow Banking Squeeze Threatens Global Economy
By John Richardson THE trend that I identified last August is continuing. China is in the midst of a major contraction in lending via its highly unregulated, and so very risky, shadow banking system. Last year we saw a big fall in shadow lending, but now it has totally collapsed. In January, shadow lending was […]