Derf's Grotto

[fung_derf]

Ð....So, this is one of the long term trends I'm following closely

Chinese property bonds set record lows as investors lose faith:
The bottom has fallen out of the market for bonds from Chinese property developers. The dollar bond prices of real-estate companies in China have plummeted to new lows, with some trading below 10 cents on the dollar. That reflects a loss of investor confidence in the sector, following a series of bond defaults that have shortchanged international investors, and a unrelenting downturn in the country’s property market. “Everyone is scared,” said Kenny Chung, executive director and portfolio manager of fixed-income hedge-fund manager Astera Capital Partners. He said that even though dollar bonds from Chinese property companies are cheap, “there is nothing positive to bet on yet.” New home sales in China continued to slide on a yearly basis in October. That marked the 16th consecutive month of year-over-year declines. Sales in October, which is traditionally a busy month for home sales in China, fell 2.6% from September. Nicholas Chen, an analyst at debt-research firm CreditSights, said there is a lot of uncertainty about the direction of the property sector, and few concrete developments in the debt restructurings being undertaken by distressed developers. WSJ.com

China vows commitment to growth as pressure on economy mounts:
Chinese policymakers pledged on Wednesday that growth was still a priority and they would press on with reforms, in an apparent bid to soothe fears that ideology could take precedence as Xi Jinping began a new leadership term and strict COVID curbs exact a growing toll on the world's second-largest economy. Xi secured a third term as general secretary at the ruling Communist Party's twice-a-decade congress last month, when he urged the party to brace for hardship and strengthen national security, and renewed his support for the zero-COVID policy, despite the fragile economy. In pre-recorded interviews for the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit in Hong Kong, senior officials from China's central bank, securities and banking regulators assured their audience via a video link that China would keep its currency and property markets stable, and remained committed to a pro-growth economic strategy. Yi Gang, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), said China will continue to deregulate its markets. While other countries have been tightening policy to battle rising prices, China has implemented an accommodative monetary policy to shore up sputtering growth, raising concerns about capital flight. After surprisingly high gross domestic product growth of 3.9% in the third quarter, Nomura expects growth to drop again, with zero or even negative sequential growth from the previous quarter. Reuters.com