China's Economy Implodes

Exports were 18% below expectations. Imports 30%. Anyone care to take a stab at real GDP with numbers like this? -10%? -20%? In fact, can we even believe the accuracy of the reported numbers or are they padded?

Still want to join Jim Rogers and move to China? Still believe the Yuan is undervalued? Still believe oil is going to $200? Still believe the world is flat? Still believe in the commodity supercycle? Still believe in the Asian century? Still believe in central planning? Still believe China is run by economic genius? Still believe the remarks that China is going to save the world? Still believe the chatter about inflation? Still believe Thomas Friedman's best-selling book? Still believe Fareed Zakaria? Still believe the thousands and thousands and thousands of magazines, media reports, news articles, books and investment reports pumping China from every country on earth? Still believe every international CEO investing in China? Still believe all of the bears who loved China? Still believe China is going to be increasing its gold purchases as the gold bugs would tell you? Still believe China is going to keep funding U.S. Treasury purchases? Still believe every single global economist with an opinion on China? Still believe every single Wall Street personality? And, I do mean every single one of them in reference to the last two. Still believe all of the lies, lies and more lies?

Here's a better question. What exactly do you believe anymore? I'll ask that question again at some point in the future.

As we wrote years ago, Japan is the dominant economic power in Asia and will remain so for the foreseeable future.