Ok so we have had the .
Dot com bubble
Housing bubble
Market bubble
Any guesses as to the next bubble ?
Municipal bonds maybe?



Just being a ray of sunshine.

 

What about the regional hiring bubble?

Skyhigh

 

Next bubble? It'll take a while to get going but maybe alternative energy, its got a lot of the precursors. A lot of bubbles come from new industries (dot.com) or are under regulated (present mess) and are subject to creative financing and incentives. If it happens it'll be a real pity for the alternative energy bubble to bust...it'll be something that sours Americans once again, and its something useful, something we need, not $300 million going to investment bank presidents (Goldman Sachs) and a internet start-up called "Angry Monkey" .

 

I don't think that creative financing will ever rear its ugly head again. It's a one shot deal. Just like the cowardly attacks of 9/11. It'll never happen again.

I guess a better analogy would be likened to a person that plants seeds to grow some trees or a vine. As the vine/trees grow, they have to be trimmed back so that it will bear fruit. No fruit was growing or had rottened on the limbs, so the invisible hand that is present in every market driven economy did what we couldn't.....and that was to start trimming and cutting off those limbs that bore bad fruit or none at all.

Seems like I heard this analogy used somewhere else??!!!!.............



atp

 

I've worked in both big energy and alternative fuels...

The alternative side has never really gotten very far off the ground. It has made significant progress recently, but nowhere near enough to qualify as a "Bubble".

The problem has always been investors, or lack thereof. For a traditional money-man, alternative energy is scary for several reasons...

- There are plenty of good ideas out there, but many (not all) of the advocates and visionaries are wild-eyed hippies...that doesn't play well in the boardroom or at the exclusive golf resort.

- We use oil because it always has been, and still is, the cheapest alternative (except natural gas). Hard to make a financial case for spending a lot of R&D money to develop a product which is STILL going to be more expensive than the well-established competion.

- One of the largest hurdles with many alternatives is infrastructure...we have tens of thousands of miles of pipelines, trucks, and filling stations. Replacing all of that is monumental, even after we decide what the replacement is goin to be. This problem obviously favors using the existing residential electrical and natural gas grids.

I had actually hoped that oil prices would stay higher for longer...that would have spured more alternative development. With a little luck the simple knowledge that oil prices CAN triple will embolden the alternative folks to keep plugging away...with the intent of being ready for the next surge.

BTW, government money has been a major factor in altrnative R&D and utilization (end-user rebates). However MAJOR government funding would likely be required to make large infrastructure changes.

 

That burst about 8 months ago.

 

I was trying to point out that he forgot to mention the "regional hiring bubble". As you mentioned it burst a while ago and needed to be added to the list.

Skyhigh

 

CREDIT card bubble is next and that might be the one that sinks us!