EEK, IT WAS THE CHINKS AFTER ALL

Market: It now appears that China may have had a significant contribution to yesterday's 3% drop. But more specifically, it is the bookkeeping in this commie paradise that is cause for concern. It is hard to break old Soviet Style non-accounting practices and actually count everything, but breaking that old habit is what is going on over there right now. They are finding more and more companies lying (What? Lying?) about everything from petty cash to stock price. Company debt is far too high. China is shifting to world accounting standards and justifiably frightened about the speculation that has taken a hold of the country, kind of like the tulip bubble of several hundred years ago. Stories (and they are just stories, I think) of people pawning their valuables so they can buy stock, have all of Asia nervous. But it is the amount of U.S. debt owned by China that spooked our market. We are going to have to pay the piper on this debt sooner or later. Thanks again, George.