Casual Observations

In my short time here in the great People's Republic of China, I have made one simple, yet probably overlooked, observation. In the U.S. before I left, every commercial outlet, ranging from department stores to shopping malls were offering deep discounts in an effort to support continued consumer spending. Here in Tianjin, the story is the same. Every outlet, regardless of place on the scale of value, is offering similar discounts. While this may just be a simple coincidence, it is at least anecdotal evidence of further economic problems if consumers are unwilling to assume their historic and necessary economic function. I would post a photo, but Google Images isn't cooperating here.

This, of course, is besides the worries of the larger financial institutions here in the PRC about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's balance sheet problems.