China's Black Monday

Chinese stocks have plunged 8.5% today, sending global markets into a tailspin.

The fall is despite the fact that the People’s Bank of China was gearing up to inject some stimulus, likely by reducing the level reserves banks are required to hold and thus unleashing more liquidity, and the fact that the Chinese pension fund is to be allowed to invest up to 30% of its funds in the market.

China is learning, what every other government in the world knows (or has learned through bitter experience), namely that the markets cannot be tamed by grand one off gestures when they are in panic mode.