The battering that China’s currency and stock markets are taking is emblematic of the pessimism settling over many corners of the world’s second-largest economy. Businesses in the manufacturing heartland of the south and the east—from makers of electronic gadgets to textiles and furniture—talk of slack orders and late payments. Meanwhile, the traditional heavy industrial engines of steel, cement and glass remain saddled with excess capacity built up in the boom years. “Everyone thinks this will be a very troubled year,” said Willy Lin, managing director of Hong Kong-based Milo’s Knitwear Ltd., which exports skirts, suits and other apparel to Europe and the U.S. from its factory in Dongguan, a city in southern Guangdong province. “No numbers point to a rosy picture. It will be pretty turbulent.” The dour assessment has spilled over to the nation’s stock markets and to the Chinese currency , and economists as well as executives […]