by threadbear » Tue 17 May 2005, 13:26:53
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('RdSnt', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hull3551', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('FoxV', 'd')oes anybody know/suspect what the flash point for the credit bubble burst will be (ie what are the signs)...
I think so many volatile factors are at play here that it will probably be a combination of things.
Items that I see as flags right now:
- Amount of time houses are on the market is increasing in bellweather bubble areas, such as Miami, Vegas, SF Bay.
- Foreign investors' decreasing subsidy US debt, whether corporate, agency, or government (or indirectly consumer).
- Continued increase in economic growth (ie, GDP) versus wages.
I think oil willl be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back, as we see how jittery the markets are in response to fluctuation in oil prices.
Not to insult Muslims in any way, but consider the riots that errupted this week because of the Newsweek article about abuse to the Koran. There have been many stories in the past of a similar vein that did not spark anything like this reaction.
What I'm eluding to is that bad things can be set off by seemingly unrelated, small events. Pressures build up in the public space, most not even recognized. Low level exposure to fear, feelings of apathy and a sense that there is something wrong but not really knowing what.
I would suggest that there are alot more people, in the US in particular, that are in a state of knowing something is wrong. You can't tell me that a large portion of the home buyers who are mortgaged beyond recovery aren't at some level aware that they are in freefall. It's like the feeling you get when a big storm is approaching.