Country: China

Out of 14 predictions for the year ahead, Bryce, Alec and Andrew review each one and discuss the circumstances around those topics for 2023.

Today Darcy and Sascha talk about what’s going on in China, and what does reopening mean for the world’s second largest economy? Then Darcy is joined by a guest expert Richard McGregor, to talk further about his thoughts on the developments in China.

For the final show of the year, the boys look at the bull-case and the bear-case for 2023, they recap the latest GDP numbers, and take stock of where the property market is at. And then they wish you a Merry Christmas from everyone at Comedian v Economist and Equity Mates Media!

All is not well in the Chinese economy. To set the scene and provide the context for Xi’s unprecedented tilt at a third term, Darcy and Sascha explore the state of the Chinese economy.

Whatever you’re using to find this podcast - it has a semiconductor. They are the brains of modern electronic devices and are necessary in communications, computing, healthcare, transport, energy… look… basically every industry. And this week, the US Government banned semiconductor companies from building factories or even selling to Chinese customers. Today Alec and Sascha look at why America put such a restrictive ban in place? And asked the question - how is this going to affect them?

Australian wine sales to China dropped 98% in two years. That's not a typo. That's 98%. In the 2020 Financial Year, Australia sold $1.1 billion worth of wine to the world’s most populous country. In the last financial year, it sold just $25 million. It's not because the quality has dipped. This is a story about China. Call it economic coercion, call it weaponisation of trade, or just call it buying from friendly markets... this story is appearing with Canadian canola, Norwegian Salmon, and Philippino bananas as well. Today Alec and Sascha look at how China is using trade as an economic tool, and ask - how did Australian wine get caught up in it?

Manolo Blahnik can finally sell his shoes in China. This has been a fight 22 years in the making, and the Spanish shoe maker isn’t alone. Big western brands have been fighting and losing in Chinese courts for decades. But last week, something changed. China’s highest court sided with Manolo Blahnik, cancelled the trademark held by a local Chinese business and opened the door for Manolo Blahnik to sell his shoes in China. Today Alec and Sascha talk about what changed, and wonder does this case tell us anything about China’s changing relationship with western fashion brands?

Chinese property was front of mind for many investors last year as we watched property developer Evergrande struggle with its $300 billion dollars in debt. Turn away for a few months and now Evergrande’s developer peers are accepting fruit and vegetables as payments. Chinese property developers are now accepting garlic in exchange for property. You heard that right. And no, garlic isn’t code. 500g of garlic will get you 5 yuan off your property. Or maybe more realistically, 5 tonnes of garlic will get you 50,000 yuan off your property. That’s a little over $7,000 US dollars.

Competition for control of the rare earths market is heating up, but not everyone is playing fair. Census data shows that the average Aussie household is shrinking, 2022 is being called 'the year that broke the 60/40 rule, and Singapore is making beer out of recycled dunny water. All this and more on this week's Comedian V Economist.

What was your lockdown like? For many of us it wasn't a great experience, but thankfully (for most) it's in life's rear-view mirror. But for the residents in Shanghai, it’s not. What's more, this is a hard-lockdown that many people never experienced. The government has instructed residents not to leave their house - for anything. Unable to throw out their rubbish, walk their dogs, or even go to buy food. If there's an infection on a nearby floor of their apartment blocks - you might be taken to a quarantine facility. Even getting food is a logistical nightmare - delivery services might not be able to get to where you live - because they've been banned, or the drivers themselves are just too anxious.

Aussie start ups have had a record breaking funding quarter... where is all that money coming from? One of Australia's economic grey-beards reckons housing in Australia is a travesty of natural justice, China might already be in recession, and Freddo Frogs are getting smaller. What's up with that? All this and more on this week's Comedian V Economist.

Markets have had something of a shakeout over the summer, without a regular CVE to guide them, but is it the beginning of something much larger? What will the RBA do now the data is a full two years ahead of their forecasts? How has China been tracking over the summer, and why are these millionaires asking us to tax them more? All this and more on this week's Comedian v Economist.