Much of Asia's comparative advantage in manufacturing will be eroded with high energy prices. Even though China declines to cut carbon emissions it is believed that Chinese coal consumption has hit a plateau and will need more imported coal than Vietnam, Indonesia and Australia can supply. India found itself in the same situation a few years ago. Add to that shipping costs of manufactured goods and it may be that the Asian economic miracle has peaked. Food import costs will also cut into trade balances. Perhaps the economic frugality model will go global with the result Western real incomes decline and Asian incomes stall due to reduced growth.

The US Federal Reserve is owned by the Rockefeller families et al.

As these families own wealth virtually unlimited, what has Georgie Boy Bush done, to put them off-side?

Cheers - BB, WA.

*warning that foreigners were willing to hold ever-depreciating US financial assets only because they would stand to lose even more by withdrawing their money. That financial terror emerged this month, not from foreign investor withdrawals, but from Wall Street.*

Dick Cheney made it quite clear that the US Dollar was not America's
problem, but the rest of the world's problem. America is basically
broke, propped up for years by Chinese, Japanes and ME loans. These
countries had to keep lending, to maintain their no 1 export market.

Its been unsustainable for years. Eventually the bubble had to
burst. Americans are now paying the price for electing Bush-Cheney
as their leaders, not once, but twice. Clearly they had not
experienced enough pain after the first time, now they might or
might not learn the hard way.

Given that a fair % of Americans are intending to vote for such
economic luminaries as McCain/Palin, its clear that many
tens of millions have still learnt nothing from the last 8 years.

Clearly they need even more pain to learn the hard way. Sad but true.

And here is the really funny thing: After spending more than they earned for many years and printing more money than existed as real wealth the cure is?...More spending (by government), and less taxes to pay for it!
Time to stop the financial profit skimming game and return the focus to the wealth generation aspects of the economy.
The US should announce 800 Billion in new technology and nation building (real jobs, real wealth), not parachutes for the least accountable, productive, and greedy folk.

Eveyone should take a big breath, sit down and do the simple basics.

1. Read the Opinion piece by John Montgomery in today's Australian.

2. Recognise the US problem is a problem with supply of finance.

3. Do the numbers on all aspects of the size of the financial mess, it's implications for interest rates, building and ancillery industries.

4. Recognise the US economic fundamentals (It's ability to create and produce wealth through manufactiuring) are in good condition and that the finance needed to keep them afloat and functioning will keep flowing.

5. Recognise consumption spending in the US, because of too much credit in the past and the current tightening of credit and finance, will impact hugely on Asian economies.

6. Recognise the US unlike the largest Asian economy doesn't need to import food, isn't running out of water or reducing farmland area and has infrastructure that is modern, maintained and efficient.

7. Recognise US exports do not depend as much on consumerism as those of Asian exports.

8. Recognise the US exports food.

While the current financial crisis is massive and many adjustments (forced)to funding industry, agriculture and Government will be made, the world production and supply of food is the fundamental and most devestating looming crisis.

I believe we are only seeing the very start of another great depression and any bailout will likely fail, given the possible extent of the doubtful mortgages.

Today is the first time I have ever seen the price of Petrol, Gold, The Dow Jones and the US dollar all rise in unison.

That just doesn't make any sense at all.
Watch for the carnage Friday.

*8. Recognise the US exports food.*

So they are back to being peasants, with debts way over their heads,
which they can never repay. Sounds like the US is now little more
then a banana republic :)