Is China heading for a hard or soft landing? One chart to keep an eye on is the relative performance of materials equities, the long run of outperformance since 2000 looks like it might be rolling over.
Germany’s Ifo business sentiment index rose unexpectedly in March, moving in the opposite direction to the the PMI released last week:
Italian consumer morale also rose to 96.8, economists were expecting a slight decline to 93.7.
Top Chinese officials were busy showing off warships and submarines to celebrate the 60-year anniversary of their navy today, but they have something to boast about when it comes to their economy too. It is, after all, the world’s third largest.
China’s economy grew 6.1 percent in the first quarter, lower than expected but still far outpacing its G20 peers, many of which are stuck in recession.
Goldman Sachs has just upgraded its forecast for China, expecting 8.3% growth in 2009 (up from 6%) and 10.9% (from 9%).
