From The International Herald Tribune:
China, the perpetual motion machine of world economies, is showing no sign of letting up in 2005. This month the country posted its second consecutive quarter of 9.5 percent growth in gross domestic product. Consumers, buoyed by consistent increases in benefits and wages, have seen their incomes rise by 10 percent in urban areas and 15 percent in rural areas.
Chinese producers are moving more product than they are storing, as reflected by a historically low inventory-to-sales ratio of 65 percent. Capital investment, though down from a year ago, still pumped out 22 percentage points of growth last quarter.
So China is firing on all cylinders, save for the one most germane to investors: its domestic stock markets.
