No hard landing for China

Predictions about a possible hard landing in China have cast a shadow over equity markets during the past few months. And with market gurus such as George Soros and Nouriel Roubini predicting that growth of the Chinese economy could slow dramatically, the concern is gaining momentum.

One worry for investors is inflation, which has more than tripled since the start of 2010 and is up by 30% this year. The government has been increasing the benchmark one-year lending rate since 2009, up to a peak of 6.31%, as it seeks to control rising prices. But this move has brought its own set of concerns that the rate hikes could put...