As 2014 fades in the rear-view mirror, the Chinese economy exhibits two sharply conflicting trends: while economic growth continues to decelerate, the stock market is rising steadily. The capital market boom — which started mid-year and accelerated following the People’s Bank of China’s (PBoC) rate cuts in late November — might be supported by expanding liquidity (monetary policy easing) and sentiment (expectations of reform) but certainly not fundamentals (corporate profitability). One major question in 2015 is when and how will China’s current bull market end. In retrospect, there were three main economic policy ... (full story)