As Chinese web companies are hunkering down for a cold winter, demoralized managers are moving on, giving up their stock options and dreams of early retirement.
A series of stimulus policies introduced by the Chinese government of late had boosted liquidity for banks, but that failed to translate into more lending.
Tax officials have resorted to "shame tactics"-- exposing the names of defaulters in the media -- as fiscal revenues dropped for two consecutive months.
An anonymous policy recommendation calling for a fund to buy up mainland stocks in the event of a market crash has made its way onto the desk of top banking officials.
China's economic growth has hit a five-year low and slowed to a single-digit rate in the first three quarters of this year amidst a global credit crunch.
Not all is gloom and doom for Chinese investment in foreign financial institutions--China's largest state-owned bank made millions of dollars from an investment in a South African bank in the first half of 2008.