If a country’s fiscal deficit hit 10% of GDP five years running, you might reasonably conclude that its public finances were parlous, The Economist reported. So it is understandable that China has bristled at suggestions that it is veering into such territory. Officially, China is a paragon of fiscal rectitude: its annual deficits have averaged just 1.8% in the past half-decade. But the IMF, Goldman Sachs and others have come up with “augmented” estimates of nearer to a tenth of GDP, more than five times the official number.

China home prices rose 0.8 percent in July nationwide, but stalled or fell in more cities than in June, adding to concerns that one of the economy's key growth drivers is losing steam but offering some relief for policymakers worried about property bubbles, Reuters reported. A robust recovery in home prices and sales gave a stronger-than-expected boost to the world's second-largest economy in the first half of the year, helping to offset stubbornly weak exports.

China needs to reduce its reliance on credit-fueled investment, and deal with rising corporate debt and other imbalances while those problems are still manageable, the International Monetary Fund urged Friday in its annual review of the world’s second-largest economy, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Chinese government bonds are headed for a fourth weekly advance, with the benchmark 10-year yield dropping to a seven-year low, on concern the nation’s economy is slowing and as corporate failures increase. The 20 and 30-year sovereign yields declined to 3.10 per cent and 3.25 per cent, respectively, the lowest for both since Bloomberg started compiling the data in 2006. Chinese sovereign bonds have benefited from overseas inflows, with foreign investors boosting their holdings of onshore debt by the most in two years in June, after the nation eased access to domestic markets.

New economic data for China broken down by region shines a light on how uneven growth is around the country and how the nation’s statistics are still suspect, The Wall Street Journal reported. The figures that have trickled out in recent days, measuring gross domestic product in the first half of 2016 by individual province, have revived old questions over China’s statistical methodology.

China's exports and imports fell more than expected in July in a rocky start to the third quarter, pointing to further weakness in global demand in the aftermath of Britain's decision to leave the European Union, The International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. Imports fell 12.5 percent from a year earlier, the biggest decline since February and suggesting China's domestic demand may be faltering despite a flurry of measures to stimulate economic growth. "I think (the drop in imports) is mainly from the demand side," said Ma Xiaoping, an economist at HSBC in Beijing.

A Chinese shipbuilder failed to make a bond payment due Monday, becoming the second such company to default in the onshore market this year. Wuhan Guoyu Logistics Industry Group Co., which is based in the central province of Hubei, didn’t transfer funds for interest and principal payment to the Shanghai Clearing House before the due time, according to a statement Monday. The firm issued the 400 million yuan ($60 million) of one-year bonds at 7 percent in 2015.

China’s banking regulator has warned companies not to use the word “bank” in their names following a series of scandals and multibillion-dollar investment scams, the Financial Times reported. Several outfits posing as accredited financial institutions have been exposed by the regulator in the past year, among them a China Construction Bank operating out of a convenience store in a village in Shandong province. Banks and other deposit-taking institutions in China need approval from the State Council to use the label “bank” or perform most banking services.

China is edging closer to launching its own version of a popular hedging tool that protects investors in case of defaults, as the world’s No. 2 economy struggles to cope with slowing growth and record numbers of companies not paying back debt, The Wall Street Journal reported. The National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors, an industry body backed by China’s central bank, has consulted major banks and brokerage firms in recent weeks about the planned rollout of credit-default swaps, three people familiar with the situation said.

The faith that international investors have put in some credit sweeteners on Chinese debt is being tested with the latest default from one of the nation’s builders. China City Construction International Co., whose recent shareholder change triggered early redemption of its debt, failed to make full payment due June 20 on its 5.35 percent 2.5 billion yuan ($377 million) Dim Sum notes with an original 2017 maturity, people familiar with the matter said last month. Its parent China City Construction Holding Group Co.