China’s economy expanded 9.6% in the third quarter, the slowest growth in a year, with inflation up 3.6%, the fastest pace in 23 months, Bloomberg reported. Earlier in the week the People’s Bank of China raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point, the first rate hike since 2007, as Beijing looks to rein in rapid credit growth and speculative housing purchases. "Tuesday’s rate hike confirms our view that policy makers have become more comfortable with growth after a policy-induced slowdown," said Chang Jian, chief China economist at Barclays Capital in Hong Kong. Industrial output in September increased 13.3% from a year earlier, compared with a 13.9% rise in the previous month, while retail sales were up 18.8% year-on-year.
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