Bloomberg (June 15)
“The trouble is, every time China’s leadership finds itself with the appetite for the long-awaited rebalancing away from investment and toward consumption, it finds itself staring into a terrifying abyss of slowing growth…. Beijing has been trying to take its foot off the accelerator of state fixed-asset investment almost since it tapped it two years ago, but private investment clearly hasn’t been sufficient to fill the gap.” Now a trade war is likely to “trample” the long-awaited rebalancing.
Tags: Appetite, China, Consumption, Investment, Leadership, Private, Rebalancing, State, Trade war
BBC (December 13, 2013)
The purge and execution of Kim Jong-un’s uncle Chang Song-thaek has provided fodder for speculation, such as whether the dramatic events herald a broader purge. “Such a public display of state brutality is unprecedented, but the ultra-secretive nature of the state means that observers can never really claim to know exactly what happened and when,” let alone forecast what will ensue.
Tags: Brutality, Chang Song-thaek, Execution, Kim Jong Un, North Korea, Observers, Purge, Secretive, State