The focus is very much on troubled Chinese property development giant Evergrande. Its equities in HK are down more than 10% and the weakness is spreading across the property and insurance sectors. Currenccies ... the offshore yuan is weaker while beneficiaries are the US dollar and yen. AUD is leading the field lower for the major traded pairs, EUR, GBP, NZD CAD all succumbining to a lesser extent. {chart} (full story)

Australian shares fell more than 1 per cent on Monday, dragged down by heavyweight mining and energy stocks hurt by weak underlying commodity prices, while tech stocks tracked weakness on the Wall Street. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell as much as 1.4 per cent to its lowest in two months, before trading 1.2 per cent lower at 7,311.8 as at 0137 GMT. Benchmark iron ore futures slumped on Friday, as Beijing considered including more cities in its environmental controls, which would lead to reduction in steel production to meet China's accelerated de-carbonisation efforts. Heavyweight mining stocks fell 3.4 per cent to ... (full story)

Asian shares slid and the dollar held firm on Monday ahead of a week packed with no less than a dozen central bank meetings, highlighted by the Federal Reserve which is likely to take another step toward tapering. Holidays in Japan, China and South Korea made for thin conditions, and politics added extra uncertainty with elections in Canada and Germany bookending the week. The fate of Chinese property giant Evergrande, and its $300 billion in liabilities, is also in the balance with a bond interest payment due on Thursday. Concerns about the health of China's economy and Beijing's crackdown on tech firms continues to ... (full story)