Markets Routed Again Over China Economy Fears
Source: NBC NEWS
by MIKE BRUNKER and ERIK ORTIZ
Uncertainty about how quickly China's economy is weakening continued to hammer U.S. stock markets on Thursday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average down 392 points - or 2.3 percent of its total value -- for its biggest loss in three months.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Nasdaq composite also were creamed, with the former losing 47 points, or 2.4 percent, and the latter sliding 146 points, or 3 percent.
The Dow and Nasdaq ended the day more than 10 percent below their 52-week intraday highs, officially entering what economists consider a market "correction." The S&P 500 was just short of the threshold, about 9 percent away from its 52-week high.
Thursday's battering of the markets followed a similar pounding on Wednesday and was the third negative trading session out of four in the new year. Technology stocks have been some of the hardest hit. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite has plunged 8 percent since Dec. 29.
Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/markets/wall-street-braces-tumultuous-trading-day-after-chinese-stocks-plunge-n491906
George Soros Sees Crisis in Global Markets That Echoes 2008
Global markets are facing a crisis and investors need to be very cautious, billionaire George Soros told an economic forum in Sri Lanka on Thursday.
China is struggling to find a new growth model and its currency devaluation is transferring problems to the rest of the world, Soros said in Colombo. A return to positive interest rates is a challenge for the developing world, he said, adding that the current environment has similarities to 2008.
Global currency, stock and commodity markets are under fire in the first week of the new year, with a sinking yuan adding to concern about the strength of China’s economy as it shifts away from investment and manufacturing toward consumption and services. Almost $2.5 trillion was wiped from the value of global equities this year through Wednesday, and losses deepened in Asia on Thursday as a plunge in Chinese equities halted trade for the rest of the day.
“China has a major adjustment problem,” Soros said. “I would say it amounts to a crisis. When I look at the financial markets there is a serious challenge which reminds me of the crisis we had in 2008.”
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-07/global-markets-at-the-beginning-of-a-crisis-george-soros-says
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