Chinese consumers and salesmen study models of housing projects at a real estate fair on April 8, 2012 in Qingdao, China. Measures have been introduced by the Chinese government in an attempt to curb high property prices in many cities, with the placing of restrictions on the purchasing of second homes, and by introducing property taxes and higher down payment requirements.
America, Europe and China are the three legs of the stool that is the global economy. We've known for some time now that the first was weak, and the second broken. Now, new quarterly GDP numbers show that China is growing a mere 7.6%, its slowest pace since 1999, with the exception of a single quarter right after the financial crisis. Does that mean the third leg is about to fall off the stool? While financial headlines are already screaming just that, I'd argue that the slowdown we're seeing isn't a crash landing, but could instead be the beginning...
