China's economy weakens with retail up 0.4% investments down 7.2%
Business
China's economy is having a tough time right now; people are not spending much, and investment is dropping.
Retail sales barely grew (just 0.4% instead of the expected 0.8%), and big investments fell by 7.2% so far this year.
Even with these setbacks, factories are still chugging along, with industrial output up by 5.2%.
Beijing leaders pressured amid property slump
Leaders in Beijing are under real pressure to boost the economy and hit their yearly growth goals (4.5% to 5%).
They are trying to ramp up government spending, but global issues like high oil prices and tensions in the Middle East are not helping.
Plus, property investments have dropped 19.9% in the first eight months of this year from a year ago, and challenges make recovery even harder for China right now.