Feeling the burn: A global stock rout intensified Friday on fresh worries about China’s economy. As The Wall Street Journal reports, signs of a sharp slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy have unnerved investors since Beijing surprised markets last week by devaluing its currency. Shares in the U.S., Asia and Europe have tumbled along with commodity prices as investors worry about waning Chinese demand. On Friday, an early gauge of China’s factory activity fell to a six-and-a-half year low in August, heaping further pressure on stocks and commodities after Thursday’s global selloff. Read the full story.
Walking away: Rebels opposed to Greece’s international bailout walked out of the leftist Syriza party on Friday, formalizing a split after its leader Alexis Tsipras resigned as prime minister and paved the way for early elections. Reuters reports that Greece’s president gave the conservative opposition a chance to form a new government following Tsipras’s resignation on Thursday, but the country appears almost certain to be heading for its third election in as many years next month. Tsipras is hoping to strengthen his hold on power in a snap election after seven months in office in which he fought Greece’s creditors for a better bailout deal but had to cave in and accept more onerous terms. Far-left Syriza members, who oppose the promises of yet more austerity and economic reform that Tsipras made to secure 86 billion euros ($97 billion) in bailout loans, broke away to form a new party. Reuters has the full story.
Big money: With the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaching, Wal-Mart is announcing a $25 million, five-year commitment to support disaster recovery efforts around the world. The Associated Press reports the corporation and its charitable foundation announced the plans Friday in New Orleans, part of more than a week’s worth of observances in the city and along the Gulf Coast. Wal-Mart says in a news release that the commitment includes an initial $500,000 in grants to nonprofits in the Gulf Coast region. Details of the plan to fund recovery efforts will be discussed at a Friday afternoon forum on Katrina. Participants will include New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and New Orleans-born musician Harry Connick Jr.
