Asia, Global Economy | featured news

China’s manufacturing sector shrunk in August for the first time in nine months, according to government data released over the weekend, in yet another sign that the Chinese economy is slowing just as its leaders prepare for a delicate power transfer this fall.

China won’t rescue the world economy this year as it has throughout the financial crisis period that started in 2008. The country’s latest economic data shows what many economists have been saying about the world’s second largest economy: be prepared to be disappointed.

In Vietnam’s major cities, a once-booming property market has come crashing down, adding to an economic slowdown that is being compared to the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

China's big cities are announcing large investment plans intended to boost slowing growth rates, but just how much of a lift they will give to the economy remains uncertain.

China's economy is still facing big downward pressure and the foundation of a recovery is not yet solid, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said during a trip to the country's coastal Zhejiang province, state radio said on Wednesday.

Stocks closed Friday higher even as a raft of weak data from China signaled a slowing global economy.

Stocks are opening lower on Wall Street, deflated by signs that the global economic meltdown is being felt across Asia... China reported sharply lower growth in its exports. The so-called fiscal cliff, when U.S. government spending cuts and higher taxes kick in on Jan. 1, looms larger now that the distraction of earnings season is over.

China's industrial output and fixed-asset investment are expected to show signs of picking up in data on Thursday, indicating that the economy is starting to stabilize after sliding for six straight quarters.

Impoverished North Korea is gearing up to experiment with agricultural and economic reforms after young leader Kim Jong-un and his powerful uncle purged the country's top general for opposing change, a source with ties to both Pyongyang and Beijing said.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao warned that China's economic rebound isn't yet stable and the hardship may continue for a period.