M. Simon reviews European housing markets;the slumping mortgage markets, the war in Georgia, the US economy  and concludes:"The future is so bright I have to wear shades"

There are also problems in Ireland and a number of other European housing markets. So while the US is slowly coming out of its slump Europe is going into one.

Where will all this end? Probably with the US stronger than ever. Especially with a lot of very interesting new technology coming out of US Labs in a month. For instance there will be a final report in the next few months giving the results of fusion experiments now going on in New Mexico. If the results are positive expect a further boost to the US economy because it could mean practical fusion power in as little as five years. It would also mean a decline in the long term prospects for oil. Cheap electrical power or even cheap steam could provide a very big boost to oil shale and tar sand extraction and conversion. It would also make ethanol cheaper by reducing the cost of distillation. [/quote]