China fact of the day
Real, constant quality land values have increased by nearly 800% since the first quarter of 2003, with half that rise occurring over the past two years. State-owned enterprises controlled by the central government have played an important role in this increase, as our analysis shows they paid 27% more than other bidders for an otherwise equivalent land parcel.
That's from Beijing and the source is here with hat tip to Felix Salmon. It's hard being a (short-run) China pessimist, since the juggernaut seems to keep on rolling. But yes, I still am.