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To: Petrol who wrote (149991)	2/7/2002 8:30:12 PM
From: robnhood	Respond to of 436258

I think the thinking at that time was--" Why can't we be more like them"--- ho ho ho

To: Petrol who wrote (149991)	2/8/2002 12:09:13 AM
From: Earlie	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 436258

Petrol: Many investors on this side of the pond were absolutely in awe of the Nikkei as it closed in on 40000, Most over here viewed the PEs as "insane", "mad", etc. Sound familiar? It was apparent to some that the "cross holding" ("I'll hold and never sell your stocks if you will do the same with mine") game played by the Japanese banks, represented a big part of the game, but few on this side had a clue as to what might bring it down. In the end, their bubble exploded for the same reasons ours is,..... it was stretched too far Incidentally, I often read of N. American politicos talking about the need for Japan to "clean up its act". It is stated as if Japan is in its current pickle because it has badly mismanaged its affairs. This is not true. Japan moved from being a "joke" (after WW2, saying something was "made in Japan" was used as an insult), to being the most efficient producer and exporter of goods on the planet. Additionally, Japanese have been (and continue to be) among the best "savers" in the world (up to 35% of GDP!!). As a result of this, Japan built up a massive holding of excess foreign reserves, especially dollars. Unfortunately for Japan, this huge pot of dough was massively levered, then loaned out to many parts of the world. Just to provide a single example, Japanese lending has been one of the mainstays supporting the multitude of burgeoning U.S. deficits (trade, current account, etc.). While many things brought down the once mighty Japanese, a goodly part of it resulted when many of the thousands of loans that country provided to others, were simply never repaid and must now of course be written off. Yes, one can argue that they ought to have been more discerning in their lending practices, but nevetheless, their current woes result from far different causes than do those that are hastening our culture towards a similar (or perhaps even worse) date with destiny. The Japanese can't be accused of living beyond their means for decades. Best, Earlie