China's stronghold

As the rest of the world's stock markets are tumbling, the Asian region looks set to pick up growth this year. The reason is China. Understanding how the Chinese market handles the problems will therefore be vital for understanding how many markets will perform into 2010

After the collapse of Lehman Brothers at the end of 2008, global economic output fell extremely sharply. Stock markets tumbled, amid fears the world could enter a 1930s-style Great Depression. Growth forecasts have been slashed for most countries. At the time of writing, consensus forecasts predict GDP in the eurozone will shrink by around 4% this year, and North America will suffer a fall of at least 3%. Among the emerging economies, output in Eastern Europe is expected to fall close to 6% this year, for Latin America over 2%. Yet one region, Asia, appears set to actually to grow this year...