Finance & economics | Looking peaky

Hong Kong’s property slump may be terminal

Demographics and geopolitics will make a recovery harder

Cheap viewsPhotograph: AP
|Hong Kong

Luxury homes high on the Peak, a verdant mountain towering over Hong Kong, have long been above the cares and concerns of the rest of the city: residents look down from sprawling mansions onto the dense knot of tower blocks in which most people live. But recent property woes have brought even the loftiest areas down to Earth. The family of one indebted property investor sold eight swanky Peak properties between July and October for around half the price they might have fetched a couple of years ago.

Explore more

Discover more

illustration of a stern-faced man in a suit with a green tie, set against a bright green background. A small building with a flag is depicted in the pocket of his suit

The great-man theory of Wall Street

Why finance is still dominated by bold individuals

A float is inflated in preparation for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Why everyone wants to lend to weak companies

An unanticipated side-effect of Donald Trump’s election victory


People march in the annual Veteran's Day Parade in New York.

American veterans now receive absurdly generous benefits

An enormous rise in disability payments may complicate debt-reduction efforts


Why Black Friday sales grow more annoying every year

Nobody is to blame. Everyone suffers

Trump wastes no time in reigniting trade wars

Canada and Mexico look likely to suffer

How Trump, Starmer and Macron can avoid a debt crunch

With deficits soaring, their finance ministers will have to be smart