China is a Bubble

The interesting part starts about 1 minute and 10 seconds in:



This should serve as fair warning to those who think that a little more "central planning" can prevent bubbles.

(I'm not sure why it takes the likes of Al Jazeera to get the word out.)

California Dreamin'

California's dire and ongoing budget predicament is raising a tough - and touchy - question about the state's finances, one that some at the Capitol do not want discussed: Is California bankrupt?

Why Am I Not Surprised?

More than 70 percent of congressional offices violate OSHA safety standards.

When Will New Home Sales Stop Declining?

When economists stop being surprised by their decline:

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new home sales dropped 11.2 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 309,000 units, the lowest level on records going back nearly a half century. The big drop was a surprise to economists who were expecting a 5 percent increase over December's pace.

"Tops" occur when everyone starts to think that an asset will appreciate forever (think real estate circa 2006), and "bottoms" occur when everyone becomes convinced that an asset will fall in value forever. So long as economists are regularly surprised by real estate's decline, we are no where near a bottom.

Son of Hamas founder spied for Israel for more than a decade

Wowsa.