Asian shares mostly fall as rate hikes, China slowdown loom

Elsewhere, the offshore yuan depreciated past 6.75 per dollar (currently trading at 6.76165), hitting some fresh yearly lows. Analysts are cutting their forecast for China’s full-year GDP growth to reflect their current economic situation, adding even more downward pressure to the yuan.

Philippines politics is a horror show, so moving from one leader to the next won't alter much beyond who gets rich and who gets shot.

If nobody bumps off Putin, the Ukraine conflict will last until Russia runs out of conscripts or America runs out of bullets. So just pencil that in as permanent for now. That ensures rampant global inflation that interest rates won't even slow, shortages, food export restrictions, famine and political instability. We are about to see just how dependent our civilisation was on globalised trade, and it won't be pretty. Putin's invasion is also the final nail in the coffin for any attempt to slow climate change, so now is a good time to look for the most climate-secure bolthole you can find.

Re: China -The blame rests partly with China's COVID-19 outbreak.

No, the blame rests almost wholly on China's bizarre and unsustainable RESPONSE to the Covid outbreak. It is only a matter of time before more Chinese cities go into lockdown. Amused that it is called 'temporary'. Maybe permanent is just a synonym for 'quasi-temporary'. The effect on the global economy of this bizarre CCP nuttery cannot be underestimated. Expect global markets to tank. But don't worry. I'm sure financial wizards will get rich shorting the future of humanity.

Japan quasi-remains within the quasi-pandemic with quasi-closed borders and quasi-restrictions. It doesn't want to go the full China, but it can't bring itself to make like the West, which has simply got on with things. It also plans a quasi-end to Russian energy, keeping it's Russian investments safe. The Japanese Diet building should have an arthouse installation - a row of chairs that look like a fence, for members to sit on.

Yuan pressure is based on dividend outflow

Theseus is that the Yuan is being manipulated intentionally? For investors to be able to realize and shelter dividends from CITs or DATs, perhaps? Even if so, this at a time of capital outflows? When international investors have been pulling money out of the country this quarter and the last on a previously unseen scale, while hesitating to re-invest new monies? Something else going on that hasn't made analytics?

Pretty much what we have already seen, and are seeing now, without additional party drama? Check.