Global stocks lost ground for a third straight week on concerns over the health of the Chinese economy and higher government bond yields. The blue-chip S&P 500 and technology focussed Nasdaq indices fell 2.0% and 2.1% respectively.
Investors have reduced exposure to China as hopes of a post-pandemic recovery fade but the pace of selling accelerated last week after the country’s troubled property sector moved back into the spotlight.
Country Garden, China’s largest property developer, warned that it is facing the biggest difficulties in its history and confirmed it has missed interest payments on two of its bonds. Its sales slumped 34% year-on-year in July and its share price has fallen to a record low.
TEAM plc (LON:TEAM) is building a new wealth, asset management and complementary financial services group. With a focus on the UK, Crown Dependencies and International Finance Centres, the strategy is to build local businesses of scale around TEAM’s core skill of providing investment management services.