Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

Fri 03 Mar 2007Market falls off the Chinese pig's backGround Floor: So far the Chinese Year of the Golden Pig hasn't lived up to its billing as a harbinger of prosperity. Hardly had the golden pig been ushered in than the Chinese stock market turned bearish, causing it to plunge by 9 per cent in a day, writes Sheila O'Flanagan.Reasons for the fall included speculation that the Chinese government would raise interest rates and/or increase capital gains tax in order to prevent the market becoming a golden bubble. The Chinese authorities have been talking about bubbles for a while but - as we've experienced so many times ourselves in the West - enthusiastic investors are good at ignoring bubble-speak no matter who it comes from.