Factories are whirring, new apartments are being snapped up, and more jobs are up for grabs. When China releases its new economic figures on Friday, they are expected to show a remarkable post-pandemic surge.
The question is whether small businesses and Chinese consumers can fully share in the good times.
China is expected to report that its economy grew by a jaw-dropping double-digit figure in the first three months of the year compared with the same period the year before. The number is widely estimated by economists to be 18 per cent to 19 per cent. But the growth is as much a reflection of the past — the country’s output shrank 6.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 compared with a year earlier — as it is an indication of how China is doing now. Read more…..
Chart of the Day
Icarus TV
The Fed is pulling out all the stops to keep liquidly flowing through the U.S. financial system, and now, through Main Street business as well. Here’s a look at all the measures the Fed’s put in place since the pandemic hit the United States, and what kind of monetary policy tools it has left in its arsenal.
