[xysoom]

China's population shrinks as its COVID-hit economy grows at 'implausible' rate



The Australian share market struggled for direction, but ultimately ended its day flat, in the absence of a strong overnight lead from Wall Street, where markets are closed for a public holiday.To get more latest china business news, you can visit shine news official website.

In other news, China released some key economic data, showing that its economy grew 3 per cent last year.

While it exceeded the market's very low expectations, it was China's second-lowest rate of GDP growth in 50 years.

Not to mention, its population shrank by 850,000 in one year — the first decrease since 1961.It's a mixed bag for stock markets in the Asia-Pacific, with solid gains for New Zealand's NZX 50 (+0.6%) and Japan's Nikkei (+1.2%).

However, it's looking more downbeat for Hong Kong's Hang Seng index (-1.2%), the Shanghai Composite (-0.4%) and South Korea's KOSPI (-1%).

It looks like Wall Street will start the day lower as traders return to work after the Martin Luther King Jr public holiday.

Futures tied to the main US indexes are down slightly.

Major investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will report their quarterly results.

Investors will no doubt be interested in how much cash these banks are stockpiling for a rainy day (in case there's an uptick in borrowers defaulting on their loans), and whether they're forecasting a recession for America this year.Good afternoon, a little guest post from me on a highly entertaining research note that dropped into my inbox this arvo.

Rabobank global strategist Michael Every is one of the world's more colourful market analysts.

In today's missive, he warns about the conflicts of interest inherent in so much investment and economic advice that gets dished out:Taking a look back at China's latest GDP figures, there are so many ways to slice and dice them.

China's economy grew by 3% last year. That's the nation's second-worst annual growth rate since the 1970s (when its economy opened up and embraced free markets).

Another way to look at China's economy, is its GDP growth between the September and December quarters.

During those three months, its GDP growth was 0% (dead flat). Not everyone is convinced about the accuracy of those Chinese figures.China's population fell last year for the first time since 1961, a historic turn that is expected to mark the start of a long period of population decline.

The country had 1.41175 billion people at at the end of 2022, compared with 1.41260 billion a year earlier, China's National Bureau of Statistics said.China's economy struggled over 2022, with major industrial centres including Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta area as well as Guangzhou locked down or put under curbs for long periods as part of the government's "zero-COVID" strategy.

That stringent anti-virus policy was abruptly lifted last month, and economists expect growth to rebound this year although rocketing COVID infections could temper the revival in the near term.

Beijing has pledged more support for the economy as external demand falters amid global recession risks.