Budget Day: Beyond Planet Brussels, the World is Grinding to a Halt.

CHINA HITS THE PANIC BUTTON

Despite frantic and at times headless actions by Beijing, at the end of the Wednesday session 1300 stocks on the Shanghai index were down an average of 10%. Just 3 (that’s three) were up.

The No-confidence vote has now spread to raw materials as well as stocks: Chinese iron ore futures fell 8% overnight, and this morning in the West spot iron ore prices were even more pessimistic at $50 a ton, the lowest since April.

With France’s deficit worsening month by month, Japan too is showing signs of catching China Syndrome. Stocks fell sharply in the morning session, with heavy China suppliers like Hitachi faring worst. Bizarrely, Reuters was attributing much of this to Greek crisis uncertainty: it clearly lives in the same mathematical world as George Osborne.

Hat-tip to Kevin for most of this data.

The Draper comes off all fours and onto his back legs later today. I wonder if these real-world events will feature in his Colombian marching analysis. I wonder if the Labour Party will catch on and ask how pudding and pies proposes to factor in a world slump. Probably not in both cases.

But I know what I’d ask him about: Chinese nuclear reactors.

Next stop Australia, and a correction in the Sydney housing bubble. Sell now while delusion lasts. Just don’t put the money in the Aussie Dollar.

Meanwhile in Brussels, the German attempt to bring Athens to its knees by pelting the Parliament building with sausages, doughnuts and Turks has ended in glorious failure. “Ve fought to ze last Wurst,” said putsch leader Wolfgang Wheelybin, “but in ze end, the lack of Greek proposals voss the tellink factor”.

Filed under: Beyond Planet Brussels, the world is grinding to a halt. Tagged: Budget Day, China Armageddon, George Osborne, Japan catches a cold, Wolfgang Schäuble