CHINA MANUFACTURING SLOWDOWN

From the Hong Kong Standard.  I wonder if U.S. firms buying ahead--and now not needing products--in case of a West Coast port strike contributed to the slowdown.

Data suggest slowdown

Tuesday, September 02, 2014China's manufacturing slowed more than estimated last month, joining weaker-than-anticipated credit, production and investment data in suggesting the economy is losing momentum.
The government's Purchasing Managers' Index was at 51.1 for August, missing the median 51.2 estimate in a Bloomberg survey. The final reading of a separate manufacturing gauge from HSBC Holdings and Markit Economics was 50.2. Both readings fell from 51.7 in July and remain above 50, indicating expansion. A pullback in manufacturing adds pressure on the government to step up efforts to meet its expansion target of 7.5 percent this year.

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"More stimulus measures will be announced in the next few weeks," said Lu Ting, Bank of America Corp's head of Greater China economics.
"Stimulus may include a greater relending quota from the central bank, and the government has ... confidence it will keep the economy stable." BLOOMBERG