Expansion in China’s factory sector in July hit the lowest level in nearly a year and a half, with a gauge of activity slipping in the latest sign of slackness of the world’s second-largest economy.

China’s official manufacturing purchasing-managers’ index, a gauge of manufacturing activity, dropped to 50.4 in July from 50.9 in June, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Saturday.

The July reading also fell below a median forecast of 50.8 from a Wall Street Journal poll of economists, but still remained above the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction.

Beneath the headline number, the subindex measuring production declined to 51.0 in July, from 51.9 the previous month as the recent record rainfall in central China and Yangtze River Delta triggered flooding and tangled supply chains. Power shortages in some cities held back output.

The subindex of new export orders fell deeper into contractionary territory...

Mohamed A. El-Erian is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is president of Queens’ College, Cambridge; chief economic adviser at Allianz SE, the parent company of Pimco where he served as CEO and co-CIO; and chair of Gramercy Fund Management. His books include "The Only Game in Town" and "When Markets Collide."

Mohamed A. El-Erian is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is president of Queens’ College, Cambridge; chief economic adviser at Allianz SE, the parent company of Pimco where he served as CEO and co-CIO; and chair of Gramercy Fund Management. His books include "The Only Game in Town" and "When Markets Collide."

The Covid-19 recession technically ended in April 2020. At two months, it was one of the shortest economic recessions in history. Since then, however, some economists and market practitioners have been screaming from the hilltops about the risk of inflation. That’s because the US Government injected trillions of fiscal and monetary stimulus into the economy - the highest levels in history - and the US Government and governments around the world are still at it. All this spending was against the backdrop of staggering changes in our economy. Are there bright red flashing warning signs of inflation right now? If so, were the inflationary trends already in place prior to the pandemic? Or did the covid response policies of governments here and abroad accelerate them? And how do we unwind an inflationary cycle before it’s too late?Today we have the ideal guest to help us understand what we are dealing with. Dr Mohamed El-Erian is President of...

American investors are asking whether China Inc. is still worth the risk following a widening series of regulatory crackdowns that have wiped some $400 billion off the value of U.S.-listed Chinese companies.

Investors ranging from pension fund Orange County Employees Retirement System in California to money manager William Blair & Co. are rethinking their portfolios following Beijing’s decision last week to curtail the operations of China’s for-profit tutoring industry along with its ongoing campaign to rein in tech companies. The moves fueled large declines across sectors of China’s stock markets and hammered Asia-focused funds stateside.

The investor retreat sent tutoring firm TAL Education Group ’s American depositary receipts down some 70% in a matter of days to $6.19 Friday morning. TAL traded above $90 in February. American depositary receipts, or ADRs, are certificates issued to U.S. investors that represent a specified number of shares in a foreign...

00:00JONATHAN: LIVE FROM YOUR CITY FOR OUR AUDIENCE WORLDWIDE, GOOD MORNING, GOOD MORNING. LET'S WRAP UP THE TRADING WEEK. EQUITY FUTURES LOWER. "THE COUNTDOWN TO THE OPEN" STARTS RIGHT NOW. >> EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO GET SET FOR THE START OF U.S. TRADING. THIS IS "BLOOMBERG: THE OPEN" WITH JONATHAN FERRO. ? JONATHAN: FROM NEW YORK, WE BEGIN WITH THE BIG ISSUE. THE RECOVERY HITTING SUPPLY-SIDE HEADWINDS. >> SHORTAGES. >> HIGHER COST OF MATERIALS. >> SUPPLY CHAIN BOTTLENECKS. >> LOWER SUPPLY CHAIN. >> WE HAVE GROWTH RECOVERY, ON THE OTHERS WE HAVE VOLATILITY. >> I'M NOT SURPRISED WE ARE SEEING LOTS OF BOTTLENECKS. I HAVE ENOUGH CONFIDENCE IN THE MARKET THAT MOST OF THESE BOTTLENECKS WILL BE OVERCOME. >> MOST OF THOSE WILL AND SHOULD GRADUALLY EASE INTO THE END OF THE YEAR. >> IS THERE ANY FUNDAMENTAL REASON WE SHOULD EXPECT THIS TO BE ANYTHING OTHER THAN...

00:00What are the concerns about liquidity more and more people havebeen talking about a drop in liquidity over the last decade even as assets rise to all time highs even as we see I think Goldmanrecently said 5.5 trillion dollars in cash on the sidelines. But liquidity is always there when you need it.Head on my thanks for having me. We are in record levels of ease in terms of financial conditions and there's a good reason forthat. A lot of cash has been put into the system by central banks by governments and that cash has got to go somewhere. Whatis really interesting is especially when you go to the emerging world you have this contrast between on the one hand liquiditythat has done wonderful things to so many assets and on the other hand fundamentals. Well we are seeing an enormous amountof dispersion on account of covered on account of policy flexibility an account of financial resilience. The big questionany investor must faced looking for the next six months is can...

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