China Fact of the Day

Chinese consumers, when asked, will detail how household expenses have changed in the past decade. Medical costs are the No. 1 concern for 84 percent of China’s rural residents, according to a recent survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Officially, medical prices are only up 2.8 percent so far this year. That number does not include the cost of gifts to hospital doctors and administrators to ensure adequate care.

...One-year deposit rates at 2.25 percent have not been changed since November 2008, which means Chinese savers are actually losing money now that inflation has passed 3 percent