The Coming Chinese Storm?

Chinese crony capitalism could hammer an already fragile economy.
Sunday, 23 October 2011
Nick Sorrentino

Excerpt:
For so long we have heard nothing but how the Chinese were doing things right. Hundred of millions rising up out of poverty. News cars replacing bicycles on the streets of Beijing. An economy that could not be stopped, which grew year after year after year by 10%+. But there is trouble brewing.

The first real inclination I had of what China was headed for was when I read 1 Billion Customers by James McGregor 5 years ago. McGregor is a financial journalist who had been based in Hong Kong for nearly 2 decades prior to writing the book.

The stories of blatant corruption at all levels of business, double dealing, accounting standards that are a joke-to be kind, and the ever present cronies in the Communist Party, put me on notice. There was much more to China than most of the Western investing world saw.

Then 2 years ago, right after the Central Bank of China poured billions in “stimulus” into an already very hot economy I started to hear about the Chinese ‘ghost cities.”

There are vast cities that have been created by decree in China where nobody lives. the rest