China to Inject Economic Stimulus?

World stock markets mostly rose Friday as expectations grew that China will move to counter its economic slowdown.

European markets opened on an upbeat note, with Britain's FTSE 100 adding 0.4 percent to 6,611.36. Germany's DAX index jumped 0.7 percent to 9,512.57, while France's CAC 40 rose 0.3 percent to 4,393.37.

Futures augured gains on Wall Street. Dow futures rose 0.3 percent to 16,223 and S&P 500 futures gained 0.3 percent to 1,846.70.

In Asia, window dressing ahead of the fiscal year's end helped Japanese shares rebound from early losses after the government reported household spending fell in February, suggesting consumer demand is not rising as much as expected ahead of an April 1 sales tax hike.

Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.5 percent to close at 14,696.03. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.2 percent to 1,981.

Expectations have been rising for more stimulus in China as growth has slowed to its weakest since the financial crisis. Officials have set a target of 7.5 percent economic growth this year but are more concerned about ensuring sufficient new jobs are created than precisely meeting the GDP figure.

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Concerns About a Biotech Bubble

It has been the summer of biotech. After years of fretting that investors had soured on the high-risk industry, untested biotechnology companies are all of a sudden going public. This year, 24 US firms have issued initial public offerings (IPOs), pumping US$1.8 billion into the industry. Their stocks rose an average of 20% on the first day of trading. Another eight companies plan to follow suit in the coming months.

If they do, it will be a record-setting year for biotechnology. Each new deal has amped up the excitement. But there is also anxiety that the field could be in a bubble. “It will be a cycle, and this cycle will eventually run its course,” says Noubar Afeyan, managing partner at venture-capital firm Flagship Ventures in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “These things end up appearing and disappearing for reasons that people can only explain in hindsight.”

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Finally! Tesla IPO on June 29th

It's about time....sheesh.

I have a horse in this race, but not the way you think.