Has China Entered a Bear Market?

Zhang Xiaogang
Family
2000
Oil on Canvas

Zhang Xiaogang
Comrade
1999
Oil on Canvas

Two Zhang Xiaogang paintings fail to sell at Beijing Poly International Auction's November 29, 2007 evening sale, according to Bloomberg.com.

"Last week's sale contrasted with Poly's first night auction in June, when three of every four paintings on offer reached or exceeded their high estimates. The Chinese central bank raised the key lending rate to a nine-year high on Sept. 14, slowing the flow of money into the equity, real estate and art markets.

China's CSI 300 Index completed its steepest monthly plunge since at least 1995 on the day of Poly's sale, falling 2.2 percent to 4,737.41, a drop of 16.7 percent for November. The index has plummeted almost 20 percent since a record high on Oct. 16, wiping out about 4.67 trillion yuan of market capitalization, according to Bloomberg data."