Fresh from targeting journalists and analysts who were not spruiking the virtues of stock market investing during last year’s market rout, Chinese authorities are now said to be pressuring economists, analysts and business reporters against gloomy commentary on China’s economy.
According to the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed officials and commentators familiar with the crackdown, government officials have issued verbal warnings to commentators whose public remarks on the economy are out of step with the government’s upbeat statements.
Here’s the Journal with just one example.
Lin Caiyi, chief economist at Guotai Junan Securities Co. who has been outspoken about rising corporate debt, a glut of housing and the weakening Chinese currency, received a warning in recent weeks, officials and commentators said. It was her second.
The first came from the securities regulator, and the later one, these people said, from her state-owned firm’s compliance department, which instructed her to avoid making overly bearish remarks about the economy, particularly the currency.
In the past, Chinese authorities have targeted mainly political dissidents while commentary about the economy and reporting on business has been left relatively unfettered in China in a tacit acknowledgment that a freer flow of information serves economic vitality.
But Beijing has moved to reassert control of the country’s economic story line after policy stumbles that contributed to selloffs in China’s stock markets and its currency last year fed doubts among investors about the government’s ability to navigate the slowdown.
Dollar climbs as Fed officials talk up rate hike
The dollar rallied Wednesday after comments by two regional Fed officials stoked speculation the US central bank could consider raising interest rates next month.
The greenback, which has tumbled about 13 percent against the yen this year, enjoyed a pick-up after Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart on Tuesday called a June rate increase "a real option".
Also, San Francisco Fed chief John Williams said he would lend support to a hike if the US economy continued on its recovery track.
The dollar bounced back against a basket of six major currencies on Wednesday, climbing to a high of 93.23, after crashing to a low of 91.89 at one point on Tuesday, its weakest level since January 2015. It last stood at 93.11, up 0.1% for the day.
Japan finance minister ready to respond to stem yen's rise
Japan is concerned about the "speculative" and abrupt firming of the Japanese yen and will respond if necessary to stem the currency's rise, Finance Minister Taro Aso told a news conference in Frankfurt on Tuesday.
"The economy is a living animal... one-sided, abrupt movements could have adverse impact on the economy, which is not desirable," Aso said, adding that any steps taken will be in accordance with G20 agreements.
The yen surged to a 18-month high against the dollar after the BOJ held off from expanding monetary stimulus last week, defying market expectations for action even as soft global demand, an unwelcome rise in the yen and weak consumption threatened to derail a fragile economic recovery.
Oil stable after two-day decline on stall in global growth
Oil prices stabilized on Wednesday after falling for two straight days on concerns that slowing economic growth and rising Middle East output would extend a global supply overhang.
International Brent crude futures LCOc1 were trading at $44.95 per barrel at 12.45 a.m. ET, down 2cents from their last settlement.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 7 cents at $43.72 a barrel.
This followed two trading sessions in which Brent fell nearly 7 percent and WTI nearly 5 percent from end-April levels, with crude pulled down by rising output from the Middle East and renewed signs of economic slowdown in Asia.
"Asia's big markets continue to disappoint: Japan sank further, China relapsed, and India slipped," said Frederic Neumann of HSBC in Hong Kong, adding that exports were "stuck below the waterline" and "local demand looks wobbly, too."
Thanks to ongoing strong demand and further expectations of U.S. production cuts oil prices would likely rise in the short-term, BMI Research said on Wednesday.
"We anticipate a strong pullback in non-OPEC supplies. We also expect some support from the U.S. (summer) driving season. Bloated crude stocks will thus unwind in the coming months," BMI said.
"We believe prices will strengthen above $50 per barrel, trading in a range of $50-$60 per barrel until the end of the year," it said.
Reference: Business Insider, MarketWatch, Fin24, Investing, Reuters
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