Faith is a deadly trap for the trader.

Little appreciated in the economic literature are the benefits of giving up and letting things collapse.

Lawrence G. McMillan reviews the options market in his weekly column for May 21.

No return to normal. No recovery. No inflation.

China has become a nation of entrepreneurs and risk takers. It resembles the US in the 1920's -- before the country was taken over by corporate managers and political mandarins. China is a good place to make money.

China is in trouble. The market has been spooked by the government's efforts to restrain real estate speculation. The Chinese have a lot of money. And Chinese investors have relatively few places to put it.

If you add to the US national debt the debts of Fannie Mae, GM, and all the other financial holes, which the government will ultimately have to fill, the crater is about 120% of GDP -- the same as Greece’s debt.

The leaders of Europe marched to the edge of the abyss, looked over, decided it was a long way down, and did an about-face.

Pick any field and you will discover that the experts often miss the mark.

Rescues sometimes have happy endings. Households, companies, and even governments with enough self-discipline and some luck can sometimes be pulled back from the brink. But they must be at the brink, not beyond it.