China manufacturing index slumps in August: govt

The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 49.7 last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement. The reading, which tracks activity in China's vast factory and workshop sector, was worse than the 50.0 reading in July, and the first time it showed contraction since February. The outlook for China's economy has turned decidedly pessimistic even after gross domestic product (GDP) registered an expansion of 7.0 percent in the April-June quarter, surprising economists