>As one interesting signal of this turnaround in sentiment, the prices of
>golf club memberships have risen over the last three to four months, after
>years of decline. This indicator is arguably one of the best in capturing
>the forthcoming mood change towards asset prices in Japan -- given that it's
>said to be male-dominated, and golf-crazy.
Right: Sunspots for the downturn; golf memberships for the upturn.
At any rate, it strikes me as absurdly premature to think Southeast Asia has exited this crisis as long as Japan remains in a slump.
Unrelated question about the US: what are we to make of the crazy upward hike of info tech in the percentage of total business investment in the US? Are output capital ratios up because of tech driven productivity gains or because of lower interest rates?
Yours, Rakesh