Italy’s government is scrapping the previous administration’s efforts to limit Chinese investment in strategic sectors in favor of fostering relations with Beijing by volunteering for a role in China’s vast global infrastructure program. Source Bloomberg
- The dollar volume of homes purchased by foreigners from April 2018 through March 2019 dropped 36% from the previous year, according to the National Association of Realtors.
- Foreigners bought 183,100 properties with a total value of about $77.9 billion, down from 266,800 properties valued at $121 billion a year earlier.
- “The magnitude of the decline is quite striking, implying less confidence in owning a property in the U.S.,” the Realtors’ chief economist says.
US manufacturing sunk into recession in June after two consecutive quarters of declines amid President Donald Trump’s bitter trade wars, a slowdown in China and other trading partners. Source France 24
In June 2019, new car registrations in the European Union fell by 7.8% to 1,446,183 units. To a large extent, this drop can be attributed to a negative calendar effect. On average, June only counted 19 working days across the EU this year, compared to roughly 21 days in 2018. As a result, the five major EU markets all posted declines, especially France (-8.4%) and Spain (-8.3%). Source ACEAA
