Top story: A few years ago it was the rise of China that unnerved Americans — rather, it should be China’s possible fall that scares us.
- Before we scare you, let’s run down the good points of the U.S. economy: Unemployment rate? Falling! (Bloomberg)
- Auto sales? Soaring! (Wall Street Journal) and (CNBC)
- Home sales? Ditto! (Calculated Risk)
- “Shark Week” lineup? Set! (The Hollywood Reporter)
- And predictions for Friday’s June jobs report are for more of the same “slow but steady” employment growth. (Morning Money)
- Now, compare the U.S. record to the rest of the world: Eurozone? In the toilet! (The Guardian)
- Brazil? Don’t ask! (The New York Times) and (The Christian Science Monitor)
- India? Wobbly! (The Economist)
- China? Bubbling! (The Wall Street Journal)
- In fact, read any story about China’s loan practices — what with its shadow banking and lack of regulation — and you get the feeling of a 2008-crisis brewing in the world’s number two economy. (The New York Times)
- Then again, if you’re thinking of starting your own business, why not do so in one of China’s many vacant mall stores — where they may waive rent to get your business: (Businessweek)
- Already, China’s economy — while not contracting — is starting to act like a drag on the world’s economy. (Moneybeat)
- And for those rubbing their hands with glee over a little international schadenfreude, think again: “There could be no major Chinese contraction without a concomitant contraction in the United States. That would mean sharply curtailed Chinese purchases of U.S. Treasury bonds, far less revenue for companies like General Motors, Nike, KFC and … and far fewer Chinese imports of high-end goods from American and Asian companies.” (Zachary Karabell)