From Business Insider

China Was Blasted Back To 2008 This Weekend

China released a bunch of grim economic data this weekend. The worst of it being industrial production, which slowed down to its lowest level since doom-year 2008.

It's a flashback nobody in markets wants to experience and indicates that, unless the government wants to step in, China will be shrinking for the near term at the very least.

Lets do a quick fly-around of all the disappointing metrics.

Analysts expected industrial production to rise 8.8%, but it came in at 6.9%. That's down from 9.0% print in July.
Retail sales rose 11.9% instead of 12.1% as expected and 12.2% in July.

Fixed asset investment was up 16.5% versus 16.9% expected and 17.0% previously.

All of the spells trouble, and here's some more — housing sales 11% yoy through January to August, versus a 10.5% drop in the first 7 months of the year.According to Bloomberg Economist Tom Orlick, that slowing in the housing market has been the main driver of all of this discontent.

"A sector that was once the main driver of China’s growth is now suffering a slump in sales and construction. The area of new property under development shrank 14.4 percent year on year in the first eight months of 2014," he wrote in a note.



Read more: China Was Blasted Back To 2008 This Weekend - Business Insider