The EU’s chief trade negotiator Valdis Dombrovskis kicked off the Bund Summit in Shanghai by lamenting Europe’s “very imbalanced” trade with China and its vulnerability in “strategic products.” Stocks too have been vulnerable this week, with fears growing that even AI can’t save the market from the long-term drag of high interest rates.
But first, if you’re the kind of person who buys a product because a YouTube influencer says it’s great, you might want to read this.
Chinese stocks are now the world’s worst performing market in the past three years. That means there are bargains to be found.
Syria’s Bashar Al-Assad, South Korea’s Han Duck-soo and Kuwait Crown Prince Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah are among leaders meeting Xi Jinping in Hangzhou at the Asian Games. The two-week event adds medals this time for e-sports and breakdancing.
China Evergrande hasn’t lost its ability to shock, with the developer unexpectedly canceling key creditor meetings, citing sales that have “not been as expected.” The downfall of Chairman Hui Ka Yan is illustrated in his seized Hong Kong mansion, on sale for $112 million.
Migrations are in the news this week. Prison guards and panel beaters, for example, are getting a fast track to New Zealand residency.
For China's ultra-rich, Gen Z scions, who once moved fluidly between East and West while creating a backchannel of capital and dialog, geopolitical tensions are forcing them to make a choice.
Finally, the agent for Emily Ratajkowski and Alex Cooper, who turned podcasting into a multibillion dollar boom, is now navigating its acrimonious slump.
Here’s more weekend reading:
- Is this the end for Japan’s iconic Studio Ghibli?
- Archive of the Vanities: the real Sherman McCoy.
Have a blazing weekend.
