Juggling Dynamite

Over the past few years Perma-bulls have focused primarily upon the expectation of insatiable demand in China. I believe that in the not too distant future, we will look back on these arguments the way we now look back on the tech-bull arguments of the late 90's, or the Japan-bull arguments of the late '80's.
Jim Chanos the influential short-seller/hedge fund manager is betting that China's economy is about to implode in a spectacular real estate bust. A lot of people are hoping that Chanos – who called Enron right – is wrong this time. See an excellent discussion of both sides of the China case in this article Chanos vs. China, and the following video segment.

(Hat tip: thanks Dazzo)
It is interesting to note that Chanos gets threats of physical harm from China bulls today the way that Robert Shiller received threats from stock investors in the late '90's when he wrote his book “Irrational Exuberance” pointing out that valuations were overblown.…hhhhhmmmm.

More fiasco is building in the system as mortgage deficiencies threaten the ability of institutions to complete foreclosures.

Many books have now focused on the financial crisis, All The Devils Are Here, tells the story of the conditions that led up to the crisis.
Co-authors Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera say there's plenty of blame to go around, from Alan Greenspan – who failed to regulate banks despite mounting evidence of problems in the housing market – to the executives on Wall Street who put profits ahead of risk management and due diligence.
What’s clear is many of the problems started in the subprime market and were created by a little known billionaire Roland Arnall – the founder of mortgage lender Ameriquest.
Good discussion.