Weak business investment casts cloud over strong GDP growth + MORE Dec 1st

BEIJING, China – Chinese buyers of eye-poppingly expensive luxury cars will have to pay extra under Beijing’s latest effort to rein in ostentatious spending.
The communist government has added a 10 per cent import tax, effective Thursday, on “super-luxury vehicles” priced above 1.3 million yuan ($190,000). The Finance Ministry said it is aimed at encouraging “rational consumption” and curbing energy use and emissions.
Chinese leaders are trying to nurture domestic consumption to reduce reliance on trade and investment, but worry extravagant spending by the elite is politically dangerous at a time of slowing economic growth.
The government of President Xi Jinping has imposed a steadily widening series of austerity measures since 2013 to discourage corruption and what Beijing deems excessive spending. They have chilled revenues for high-end restaurants and sales of brandy, designer handbags and watches and other luxury imports.
It wasn’t clear whether the latest tax, which explicitly targets imports, might run afoul of Beijing’s World Trade Organization commitments to treat foreign and domestic goods equally…

HONG KONG – An official survey has found that Chinese factory activity rose again in November to its highest in more than two years.
The monthly purchasing managers’ index by the Chinese Federation of Logistics and Purchasing released Thursday climbed to 51.7 last month from 51.2 in October.
The index is based on a 100-point scale with numbers below 50 indicating contraction.
The widely watched indicator for China’s outsize manufacturing sector hasn’t been this high since July 2014.
A separate index compiled by financial publication Caixin showed that factory activity eased from the previous month but still maintained a robust pace.
Caixin’s index slipped to 50.9 from 51.2 previously.
The federation’s survey is mainly focused on larger, state-owned enterprises while Caixin’s report gives more weighting to small and midsized private businesses.
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REGINA – The premier says his government accomplished a fair amount during the fall sitting of the Saskatchewan legislature, but the NDP says a ballooning deficit and program cuts aren’t much to be proud of.
As the session wrapped up Wednesday afternoon, Wall said the Saskatchewan Party government moved forward with several bills.
They included improvements to impaired driving laws, pipeline regulations and adding PTSD to the coverage provided by the Workers’ Compensation Board.
He said the province is keeping the promises made during the election despite tight financial circumstances.
But NDP Leader Trent Wotherspoon said the Saskatchewan Party continues to let down taxpayers.
He noted his party pushed hardest against the government on the controversial Global Transportation Hub land deal, in which the provincial auditor concluded the government had significantly overpaid for land for a highway bypass of Regina.
“The sad reality is that this premier and the SaskParty are making Saskatchewan people pay for that mismanagement and scandal,” said Wotherspoon…

A ship receives its load of oil from the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Expansion Project’s Westeridge loading dock in Burnaby, B.C., in this June 4, 2015, file photo. (Jonathan Hayward/CP)
CALGARY – The president of Kinder Morgan Canada issued a plea to opponents of its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion on Wednesday to be “lawful and respectful” as they protest the project which secured federal approval the day before.
But Ian Anderson also conceded that protesters marching or filing legal challenges aren’t the only hurdles facing the $6.8-billion project.
“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us and we’re looking forward to getting from ‘yes’ to starting to build,” he said on a media conference call.
“I don’t think I’d be sitting here today if I didn’t think we could continue on the path to building and executing on this project.”
Kinder Morgan said Wednesday it will obtain remaining government permits, including a provincial environmental assessment, put together a final cost estimate and consult with shippers committed to the project over the next few months before making a final investment decision…

The GDP update shows a country rebounding from a weaker second quarter, but businesses are still hesitant to commit to a hazy future