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Asia stutters as China doles out meagre rate cut
Asian markets stumbled on Monday after China delivered a smaller cut to lending rates than markets had counted on, continuing Beijing's run of disappointing stimulus steps. China's central bank trimmed its one-year lending rate by 10 basis points and left its five-year rate unmoved, a surprise to analysts who had expected cuts of 15 basis points to both. Disappointment at the meagre move saw Chinese blue chips ease 0.3 per cent, while the Australian dollar took a dip as a liquid proxy for China risk. Investors have been hoping for a repeat of the massive fiscal spending that has juiced the economy in the past, but ... (full story)