Well, our favorite restaurant has finally given up. They, along with every other business in the plaza that used to be home to the High Honesty Supermarket, have closed and are looking for new locations.
Author: BH
Shakedown at High Honesty Plaza
Mobocracy, with Chinese characteristics
China is still nominally a socialist country, and still definitely an authoritarian state. But its economy thrives as a result of market reforms and an opening-up to foreign investment. Over $60 billion in foreign direct investment was spent here last year, as companies from all over the world sought to stake out early claims in… Continue reading Mobocracy, with Chinese characteristics
Back in Beijing, Hu in Seattle
We arrived Monday afternoon back in Beijing, flown from the sunny blue Aegean to the Chinese capital at the tail end of a 10-day dust storm. Parked cars and buildings are coated in light brown powder that matches the color of the sky. Bicyclists squint against the dust, pedaling furiously and blindly against the wind.… Continue reading Back in Beijing, Hu in Seattle
End of the China bubble?
It was bound to happen, of course. The irrational exuberance about ‘China’s Century‘ has begun to abate. The New York Times has given extensive coverage to the problems of China’s legal system and government corruption, and these same two themes were also high-lighted in a critical survey of the country in the recent Foreign Affairs… Continue reading End of the China bubble?
US housing prices in historical perspective
The Economist’s View features this look at a paper by Irrational Exuberance author Robert Shiller. Shiller has constructed a series of data on US housing prices going back to 1890. The resulting graph clearly shows that something out of the ordinary is going on with current US housing prices: As you might imagine from looking… Continue reading US housing prices in historical perspective