Please don't turn the property bubble issue into a 'celebrity contest' - blind central bankers v famous economists 'who predicted the bust'.
It isn't a contest - it is a real economic, financial and social issue from which there can not be winners.
As for Greece - show me the winners, who are they? Yes, i heard 'the banks'. Unfortunately - the banks have to write off their Greek assets to 'market values'. Yes, i heard 'the wealthy North Europeans'. Unfortunately - they have to guarantee Greece's survival for the next 20 years. Yes, i heard 'the ECB'. Unfortunately the ECB has become 'the last resort lender' to Greece because nobody else is willing to support Greece. Yes, i heard 'the hedge funds'. Unfortunately - the opportunistic hedge funds were buying Greek bonds on the depressed market continuing to believe that European governments will use taxpayers money to subsidize their investments. However - that was never politically acceptable. Yes, the Greek people. Fortunately - very few believe that.
Any other takers? The only lesson to be drawn from this - extreme-inflated prices are always followed by extreme-deflated prices. Society enjoys the wealth 'created' when asset prices are increasing and society always suffers when asset prices collapse. It is all just a mirage, the music has stopped.
