[Lessismore]

I would have thought Asia, and I think that was the preferred option. However, then Bush was elected, and the hostility of the Bush adminstration to Asia complicated matters. The Chinese boom hasn't been what it might have been under a Gore administration. On the other hand, treatment of Japan has become more favorable, creating a better climate for Japanese stocks.

[lentulusgracchus]

I continue to be concerned the Chinese are equipping for an attempt to cross the Formosa Strait. That would dump the markets really fast, since it would bring two nuclear-armed powers into direct military conflict for the very first time. We'd smoke them if we went nuclear, and China's population would probably fall by 75% in the year following if we really decided to take them down hard and kill their ability to feed themselves -- but that would be precisely the kind of confrontation markets hate the most, and would be an engine of destruction on the stock exchanges such as I've wondered about. The world's first general thermonuclear exchange -- wow, that would definitely do it!