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Mission accomplished--so far, at least. In the face of a financial shock probably worse than the stock-market crash of 1929, massive government intervention averted a second Great Depression. Yes, we still got the worst economic downturn the U.S. has seen since. But while there are surely lots of potholes and wrong turns ahead, the economy--both in the U.S. and worldwide--appears to be in the early stages of a rebound. We have decisions made by government officials to thank for that...
...housing market may be showing signs of life, but it's mostly limited to modest homes. The 4,000-, 5,000- and 6,000-square-footers - the ones that dot the landscape of countless American suburbs, replete with vaulted foyers and Palladian windows - are still finding precious few takers...
...Hong Kong last week, Metallurgical Corporation of China, a steel mill builder that helped construct Beijing's famed Bird's Nest Olympics stadium, stunned the stock market when it ended its first trading day 12% below its initial public offering price. The following day, an IPO by China Lilang, owner of the country's largest brand of men's clothing, also flopped, ending the day down nearly 1%. To think that less than three months ago, even lightweights like herbal shampoo manufacturer Bawang and furniture maker Hing Lee debuted with double-digit first-day gains...
...seems bad timing, then, for the Shenzhen Stock Exchange to be launching the country's first Nasdaq-style board in October. After dithering for nine years, mainland regulators finally approved the bourse's proposal for a Growth Enterprise Market (GEM), which aims to help technology and other innovation-oriented start-ups get off the ground. Of the 150 companies that have applied to launch initial public offerings, 22 have won approval. Last week, the first batch of 10 enterprises in electronics, software, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology started accepting subscriptions from domestic investors (foreigners are excluded). (See pictures of China's infrastructure...
...China launching a new stock market board when the prospects for the global economy look so uncertain and investors appear to be souring on IPOs? Like many other counter-intuitive decisions in the communist state, this one also has a method to the seeming madness. It may not look like it, but GEM is actually an important plank in a campaign to tackle one of the country's most pressing predicaments: how to nurture small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which create nearly eight out of 10 jobs, pay 50% of taxes and account for 60% of gross domestic product...