Two serious profit warnings from St Ives and Sprue Aegis, plus capitalising the professional fees relating to the recent private placing, has turned what should have been a comfortable positive into a negative. The unaudited NAV declined from 233.2 to 229.8 during the month. In the year so far, we have grappled with Brexit, war in the Middle East, negative interest rates, energy prices, Vladimir Putin, Brazil and the Chinese debt bubble and, since the last has the potential to overturn everything, we should be forewarned and forearmed.

Back in 2008, as the western financial crisis spread, China tried to insulate itself with a huge credit stimulus. Nevertheless, by 2011, the growth rate had peaked with the decline led by property then manufacturing. Further measures have not altered the trend for long: one constant, though, is the build-up in the debts of property companies, state-owned enterprises and local governments. Credit growth may be running at 25-30 per cent, or twice as fast as the official figures would have us believe. Banks possibly have as much as 20 per cent in non-performing loans or, to put it another way, about 60 per cent of GDP. Growing dependence on volatile forms of funding sources (e.g. overseas), makes the banking system more prone to sudden shocks.

With a slowing economy and rising financial instability, it is hard to see Beijing changing course any time soon. Yet, without such a change, China is likely to experience greater turbulence than before – perhaps not this year but maybe 2017 or 2018. That represents a real policy dilemma without any obvious, comfortable solution.