Retail shoppers slowing down in China, more signs of a
bubble, may effect us

There's a reason we call rapid growth a "bubble." Nothing lasts forever including the impressive economic growth in China.  And if their bubble bursts, it's going to have ripple effects across Europe and the US.  Bloomberg:

Chinese shoppers on their Lunar New Year holiday were less lavish than expected by Hong Kong jewelers, curbed spending on beauty brands and slowed spending at South Korean stores. They may keep that pace in the coming year of the dragon. Holiday sales on the mainland grew 16 percent to 470 billion yuan ($75 billion), according to data from the Ministry of Commerce, the slowest pace since the 2009 financial crisis and three percentage points below last year?s increase. China is finding it is not immune to global economic forces and the slowdown is hitting Chinese consumers, who may increase this year?s spending at a slower pace than in 2011. This may mean trouble for the growing number of foreign companies rushing into China, especially luxury brands, said Jason Yuan, an analyst at UOB Kay Hian in Shanghai.

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