Flashing Red Signs from Chinas Markets

Published: July 21, 2015, 3:36 p.m.

b'With Lei Mao (http://www.wbs.ac.uk/about/person/lei-mao), Assistant Professor at Finance at Warwick University (UK)



Chinese stocks have taken a big hit of late \\u2013 with markets down 30% within a few weeks. But, to put things in perspective, Chinese shares have almost doubled over the past 12 months so even with a 30% drop, shares are still up about 65% for the year \\u2013 and that\\u2019s a super-fantastic year in any stock market. But does this sharp selloff signal trouble in China? And how does a slowdown in China impact global and American companies?

Prof. Mao gives us an insider\\u2019s view on the quality of data coming out of China, why we should be concerned about what China is doing to drive economic growth and how leverage can be dangerous for the stock market and economic fundamentals\\u2026 in ways that many economists believe are not sustainable over the long run. China\\u2019s all-powerful government also gets to set its own rules, pretty much \\u2013 and that\\u2019s another thing that worries free market advocates who well know that governments can control stock and commodity prices only so long before market forces kick in and cause havoc.'