Asian shares will probably trade cautiously Wednesday ahead of the release of the economic figures in China. A Reuters poll forecasts a GDP growth of 6.9 percent in the second quarter, the slowest since the early 2009’s 6.6% rise, and less than the first quarter’s 7% expansion.
Slowing growth could spell more troubles for KFC and other brands from U.S. firm Yum, which is having difficulties recovering from a food safety scandal last year.
All eyes will be on the Chinese stock market, which has snapped three straight days of gains on Tuesday, when the Shanghai Composite Index closed down 1.16%, dragging down Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index which fell 0.44%. Are investors still unconvinced by the government’s ability to stabilize the market? Or are investors turned off by China’s aggressive market intervention? Read on..
Yum Brand still struggling to reverse declining sales in China. The firm behind KFC, Pizza Hut posted a 10% decline in same-store sales in China in the second quarter from a year ago. Yum gets half of its total revenues from China, where sales have been falling after a food safety scandal in 2014. Financial Times (paywall)
Fund managers disheartened by China’s stock market intervention. Global investors pulled money out of Chinese equities through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect for seven successive days, the longest stretch since the scheme was launched last November. Some Fund mangers were concerned the Chinese government’s move to arrest the downturn in equities have “undermined plans to overhaul the market.” The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
Twitter stocks fly high after fake story. A prankster published a fake Bloomberg story Tuesday claiming that Twitter had gotten a $31 billion buyout offer, triggering the social media company’s stock to spike. The stock fell again when the story was proven to be false. A former SEC lawyer says that these modern “pump and dump” schemes are easy to implement with the Internet. US News
Madison Square Garden moving to NYSE. MSG announced Tuesday that it is transferring its common stock listing to the NYSE from the Nasdaq, effective July 27. Shares have gained 11% so far this year. MarketWatch
Wednesday is Prime Day. It’s time for some midweek shopping. Amazon will be hosting “Prime Day” Wednesday, a 24-hour sale set to rival Black Friday available only to Amazon Prime customers. Wal-Mart couldn’t be upstaged, and is planning a sales day too, for everyone. The competing deals will only benefit consumers. CNN
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