Collapse in Gambling Totally Crushes Macau’s Overall Economy by Wolf Richter • Jun 9, 2020 • 59 Comments Other places so dependent on tourism face a similar fiasco. But Macau had already been badly hit by China’s crackdown on corruption and capital flight.
Crude Steel Production: China Blows the Doors off Rest of the World During Pandemic After Already Huge Surge in 2019 by Wolf Richter • Jun 6, 2020 • 120 Comments Never let a good crisis go to waste. US production, 4th in the world, plunged 32% in April. India’s production, normally in 2nd place, collapsed 64%.
HSBC Embraces China’s Crackdown on Hong Kong, Goes All-In on Asia Pivot by Nick Corbishley • Jun 4, 2020 • 98 Comments Beijing squeezes, and HSBC knows where it makes most of its money. Standard Chartered, another UK bank, did the same.
With No Mainland Chinese Buyers, Hong Kong’s Commercial Real Estate Dives by Nick Corbishley • May 18, 2020 • 29 Comments The most important source of inbound investment — mainland China — has vanished, with huge ramifications for CRE.
Retail Landlords Reel as Big Luxury Brands Threaten to Close Stores if Rents Aren’t Slashed by Nick Corbishley • May 5, 2020 • 93 Comments Luxury retail isn’t what it used to be, from Barcelona to Hong Kong.
Mainland Chinese Stop Buying Hong Kong Residential Properties, Try to Unload What They Have, Prices Follow by Nick Corbishley • Apr 21, 2020 • 119 Comments “Some forced selling is highly likely.”
Another U.S. IPO of a Chinese Company Goes Bust in 11 Months by Wolf Richter • Apr 7, 2020 • 127 Comments Trading of Luckin shares now halted. Wall Street banks, which get big-fat fees, are all too happy to sell this stuff to the American public.
Preparing for the Aftermath: China’s Airlines Try to Exit Crisis, Alitalia is Nationalized, Qantas Plans 21-Hour Direct Flights by MC01 • Apr 6, 2020 • 53 Comments The situation is very fluid.
A Word About Hong Kong’s Retail Sales Collapse: It’s a Mess by Nick Corbishley • Apr 1, 2020 • 57 Comments Sales at luxury goods stores, once the largest category, collapsed by 86% since their peak in 2013-2014.
CoronaWar Battlegrounds: New York Leads in Growth, Minnesota Bends it Best. California Hot Spots v. Italy & South Korea. Pain in Spain by Wisdom Seeker • Mar 28, 2020 • 215 Comments Madrid area hospitals were forced into wartime-triage, denying care to the elderly in order to give the young a better chance.