And Chinese stocks all through the steel industry, from iron ore to finished goods, which were built up in the expectation of a bigger stimulus package than has yet materialised, are now being run down, amplifying the downward price swing.

ECONOMIST: Iron ore

The auto industry is a trillion-dollar industry, sitting on 60-100 days of finished goods.

ECONOMIST: All yours | The

The leading indicators the OECD uses for the UK include new car registrations, the Confederation of British Industry's business climate survey, a measure of the stocks of finished goods and a measure of consumer confidence, all weighted, added together and compared to an estimation of the trend.

BBC: The popcorn route to recovery