One advisor to such uber-rich people as Dick Cheney are saying this rally might end someday. Although he does not predict as broad a decline as some other folks (he still thinks high quality US stocks like Exxon will ride out the storm well), he does see a change in the near future.

Quote:
While euphoria sweeps stock markets here and worldwide, there are at least a few voices of dissent.

One, unsurprisingly, is legendary value investor Jeremy Grantham -- the man Dick Cheney, plus a lot of other rich people, trusts with his money. Grantham, chairman of Boston firm Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo, has been a voice of caution for years. But he has upped his concerns in his latest letter to shareholders. Grantham says we are now seeing the first worldwide bubble in history covering all asset classes.

Everything is in bubble territory, he says.

Everything.

"From Indian antiquities to modern Chinese art," he wrote in a letter to clients this week following a six-week world tour, "from land in Panama to Mayfair; from forestry, infrastructure and the junkiest bonds to mundane blue chips; it's bubble time!"

"Everyone, everywhere is reinforcing one another," he wrote. "Wherever you travel you will hear it confirmed that 'they don't make any more land,' and that 'with these growth rates and low interest rates, equity markets must keep rising,' and 'private equity will continue to drive the markets.' "

As Grantham points out, a bubble needs two things: excellent fundamentals and easy money.

Here is a link to the entire article:

http://www.thestreet.com/pf/funds/followmoney/10353243.html

Mike

Personal bankruptcy filings in Florida are rising with “Nearly 1,300 personal-bankruptcy cases were filed in Orlando during the first three months of 2007, nearly twice as many as during the first quarter of last year” which is the tip of the iceberg. Filings have jumped 80% for the entire Middle District extending from Fort Myers to Jacksonville.

“During the five-year housing boom, many of those headed for financial trouble were able to refinance their mortgage, experts noted, to extract equity that could be used to pay off debt. But now, with home prices flat or in decline, that option is often not available.

"Prices [of homes] have tapered off, and there's no more equity to refinance with," said Doug Neway, an Orlando consumer-bankruptcy lawyer. "There are many who want to save their homes, but some people are in such bad shape, they really just need to walk away from them."

Visit OrlandoSentinel.com for the complete article at:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-mbankruptcy0307may03,0,7779396.story

Michelle