market bubble

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New Economic Worry: Not a Bubble, but a 'Superbubble'
Gloomy Word 'Superbubble'
Is Now Being Tossed Around
the rundown

Gloomy Word 'Superbubble' Is Now Being Tossed Around

Investor Jeremy Grantham, noted for his pessimistic forecasts, issues a big one

(Newser) - If the forecast of big-name investor Jeremy Grantham is correct, the US economy—and perhaps your 401k—is in for a world of hurt. The 83-year-old founder of the Boston-based investment fund GMO (who is known for his gloomy forecasts) isn't just warning of a bubble, he's upgraded...

Times Probe Unveils Next Subprime Bubble

Used-car loans look a lot like old subprime mortgages

(Newser) - Hey, it's great if you're a car repossessor—but for borrowers, the new subprime bubble in used-car loans could become a major headache. According to a New York Times investigation, more Americans with poor credit are taking on unaffordable car loans at high interest rates. The loans usually...

Should You Buy Bitcoins?
 Should You Buy Bitcoins? 
OPINION

Should You Buy Bitcoins?

Pundits explore the booming currency bubble

(Newser) - The price of Bitcoins is skyrocketing at a head-turning rate—they're currently worth more than $200 each, up from $90 when we wrote this piece on the phenomenon two weeks ago—which has everyone wondering: Is this a bubble? And should you buy anyway in the likely event that...

Next Bubble to Burst? Higher Education, Says PayPal Co-Founder Peter Thiel

 Next Bubble to Burst? 
 Higher Education 
OPINION

Next Bubble to Burst? Higher Education

We invest vast sums in a future that may not exist, says Peter Thiel

(Newser) - We’re in the midst of another bubble, and it's not an Internet one, according to PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. It's a higher education bubble, and "like the housing bubble, the education bubble is about security and insurance against the future,” writes Sarah Lacy, who sat down to...

Robert Shiller: Farmland Bubble Could Be Next
 Farmland: The 
 Next Bubble? 
Analysis

Farmland: The Next Bubble?

Robert Shiller shares a hunch

(Newser) - If you’re trying to spot the next big bubble that will roil markets, economist Robert Shiller has a dark horse candidate: Farmland. Sure, farm bubbles are pretty rare—there was only one in the 20th century—but prices for farmland have been booming in the US and UK, Shiller...

Bubbles Reinflating, World Bank Warns

Asian asset prices soaring as recovery takes hold

(Newser) - Efforts to boost economic recovery are having the dangerous side effect of creating new bubbles in property, stock, and currency markets, the World Bank warned yesterday. Commodity prices are also surging, with gold hitting a record price yesterday. The effect is most pronounced in Asia, where recovery has come soonest,...

Krugman: We've All Been Madoffed
 Krugman: We've All 
 Been Madoffed 
OPINION

Krugman: We've All Been Madoffed

(Newser) - Bernie Madoff’s investors thought they were getting richer every quarter. Then, one day, they discovered their wealth “was a figment of someone else’s imagination,” writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times. And sadly, that’s a pretty good metaphor for America’s experience this decade....

Tea Bubble Bursts, Leaving Chinese Broke

Boom and bust results in a bitter fate for tea-growing heartland

(Newser) - Thousands of people in China's Yunnan province were left in the cold when the country's red-hot tea market collapsed last year, the New York Times reports. The newly affluent nation went wild for the Pu'er region's distinctive fermented tea—said to reduce cholesterol and cure hangovers—during its decade-long boom....

Clinton's Gains-Tax Break Pumped Up Housing Bubble
Clinton's Gains-Tax Break Pumped Up Housing Bubble
ANALYSIS

Clinton's Gains-Tax Break Pumped Up Housing Bubble

Eliminating levy on profit from home sales encouraged Americans to play the market

(Newser) - A tax break introduced by President Clinton and made law in 1997 helped fuel the housing bubble that eventually led to the current economic crisis, the New York Times reports. The cut, which allowed owners to sell their homes without paying capital-gains taxes on profits up to $500,000, created...

Bear With It: Stock Market Has Seen Worse Than 2008

Dow lost 14.1% in Oct., but that pales against 30.7% in Sept. 1931

(Newser) - It would be hard to overstate the impact of the past 2 months on those who work and invest in the stock market, Ben Steverman writes for BusinessWeek. The crisis has surely spurred many investors to reevaluate the risks, but is it a game-changer, historically speaking? Although it was steep,...

Panic Has Passed, but We Haven't Hit Bottom

Get ready for a long recession

(Newser) - The most panicky phase of the global financial crisis is likely over, thanks to the combined efforts of the world’s governments, writes Steven Pearlstein in the Washington Post. But don’t “confuse this moment of calm with a stock market bottom or a sign that a serious recession...

All Economy's Bubbles Have Burst at Once
All Economy's Bubbles
Have Burst at Once
Analysis

All Economy's Bubbles Have Burst at Once

Dominoes tumble from real estate to credit to commodities

(Newser) - The real reason the global economy is tanking is because a huge set of financial bubbles are all bursting at once, explains Steven Pearlstein in the Washington Post. The US real-estate bubble started the party, leading to a burst in the credit bubble, the corporate takeover bubble, and the commodities...

How to Make Millions Off Misfortune
How to Make Millions Off Misfortune
column

How to Make Millions Off Misfortune

Put bubble markets to work for you, writes Joel Stein

(Newser) - From tech stocks to real estate, the succession of bubble markets leads Joel Stein to ask himself: How can I exploit other people's bad investment decisions? The Los Angeles Times columnist teams up with a Princeton economist "to figure out where people will idiotically dump their money next."...

Widget Mania on the Rise
Widget Mania
on the Rise

Widget Mania on the Rise

Tiny software apps boost site traffic and ad revenue

(Newser) - Since Facebook created an open platform for software developers last May, widgets have won the love of consumers, social networking sites, and even more traditional corporate websites, Forbes reports. Facebook users alone have installed the miniscule applications—allowing them to share music or have zombie fights—more than 765 million...

Clean-Tech Show Draws Eager Investors

Companies of all sizes hope to cash in on growing market

(Newser) - A clean technology conference hosted scores of venture capitalists and private-equity firms looking to cash in on 100 cutting-edge companies. Drawing particular interest was First Solar, which makes solar-energy cells that could soon compete with residential utility prices, MarketWatch reports. The company also signals the sector’s dangers: Its $200...

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