> the growth of consumer's debt to
> galactic proportion, especially via he housing bubble and low interest
> rates which in turn comes courtesy the Asians' CBs massive buying
> of UST bonds.
Not just East Asia -- Europe is also a major financier.
> Finance is the only growth industry in the US
Retailing, construction, health care, higher education, and business services have continued to grow, though sluggishly.
> 2 - even the most hysterical cheerleader can't avoid
> facing the somber fact that increasing oil prices (an of other
> commodities} will deliver a severe surge in inflation.
But there's ferocious competition in most industrial sectors, which keeps prices down, and the new metropoles are far more energy-efficient and less exposed to the vagaries of raw materials prices than they were in the 1970s.
-- DRR