Broking Houses and China

: Concerns about China, commodities and downward revisions on global growth – notably by the IMF and the big broking houses - have given markets a severe case of financial dyspepsia, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The ASX is down around 6 per cent for the year to date and consensus forecasts on earnings continue to fall. Map: Australia It has been one of the bleakest preludes to a reporting season for some time. That said, it is not the worst January on record. Locally, the ASX put on just under 3 per cent last week, the US was up 1.8 per cent, Europe 1.1 per cent and Japan 3.3 per cent, while China bucked the trend to finish the week down 6 per cent. For the ASX it is merely the worst January since 2010, when the market fell a similar amount, while it is the worst January for the US since 2009 – deep in the GFC – when shares lost almost 9 per cent of their value. "The track record of the January barometer is very mixed," noted AMP Capital Investors chief economist Shane Oliver. "For US shares the track record of a negative January going on to a negative year has been 43 per cent since 1980. "Similarly, for Australian shares the track record of a negative January going on to a negative year has been 33 per cent since 1980." Central bank pessimism drives the bounce Certainly January could have been worse if not for a late spurt which may have eased some anxiety, albeit temporarily. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.