Good news from US housing, but less good news out of China..

House prices are rising and home sales were up almost 10% last month. That should lay some floor under the US economy, boosting consumer confidence. If this continues, it will stop the rot, as housing is where it all started. The car and housing markets have quite some catch-up to do, so there is a chance the recovery will be somewhat stronger than most people seem to think, despite 10% unemployment.

But China might have overdone things (excellent article from the Financial Times). With overcapacity worsening and a threat of asset bubbles and bank loans going bad..