Michael Pettis (@michaelxpettis)

1/8 China' private secret is suffering. Among other things, "“China used to be the best VC destination in the world after the US,” says one Beijing-based executive, but “the industry has just died before our eyes. The entrepreneurial spirit is dead.” <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ft.com/cont...

1/10 Good IMF blog that reminds us that trade imbalances are largely driven by domestic macro forces rather than by incremental price effects. It notes that China’s growing trade surpluses were driven by a rise in Chinese savings caused both by the... <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imf.org/en...

1/3 Despite the Xinhua headline, both industrial output and retail sales came in below already-low August expectations. Industrial output rose 4.5% year on year, down from 5.1% in July, while… <a target="_blank" href="https://english.news.cn/20240914/f6ae498f077845b4912687550e2c4129/c.html" color="...

1/3 Caixin: "Although courts are enforcing bet-on agreements that compel companies that miss their IPO deadline to buy back investors’ shares and pay additional interest on their capital, business owners are increasingly unable to make the... <a target="_blank" href="https://www.caixinglobal.com/20...

1/6 Shekhar Aiyar is worried that the global environment has become less friendly for developing countries "now that Western countries are turning increasingly protectionist." This makes little sense. Global trade has been protectionist for decades. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com...

1/5 "President Joe Biden’s administration is poised to unveil a sweeping decision on China tariffs that target key strategic sectors. The new tariffs will focus on industries including electric vehicles, batteries and solar cells, with existing levies largely being maintained." <a target="_blank" h...

1/6 Great essay by Perry Mehrling: "For Minsky, the boom is thus not at all a matter of irrationality but rather of profit seeking, of firms looking to reduce financing costs in competition with other firms which are also looking to reduce... <a target="_blank" href="https://journals.openedition.or...

1/5 This is the kind of thing China should do more of to revive domestic demand. According to Bloomberg, "China will hand out billions of yuan to help cities renovate run-down public buildings and upgrade infrastructure." <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-07/c...