--- China schürt Inflationsängste, weiß die New York Times mit einer nicht ganz hämefreien Überschrift von der Frühjahrsmesse in Guangzhou zu berichten: As managers of businesses across China opened booths here on Thursday at the nation's biggest trade fair, the common refrain was that prices of everything from rice to steel were rising sharply, and that prices of exports to the United States, Europe and elsewhere would have to follow. The prices for orders placed now will not show up in most American indexes for months, when goods are actually shipped. But as prices begin to rise in the United States, concerns are growing that China will become an exporter of inflation. Even though its goods account for a small percentage of total American purchases, China has played an oversize role in worldwide prices, with low labor costs that allow it to set prices in many industries. ... The prices of steel and other materials are major culprits. Another is energy costs. A motorcycle manufacturer in east-central China said he has had to close a factory for three days each week because of electricity blackouts, forcing a 4 percent increase in prices, with more planned. ... China's efforts to keep the economy from overheating and igniting inflation have been unfruitful so far. Using a term that Mr. Zheng and other Chinese officials have conspicuously avoided, the state-run New China News Agency on Thursday quoted Morgan Stanley's China economist, Andy Xie, describing the Chinese economy as "a bubble." That comment came as Beijing announced that the economy had grown at a rapid 9.7 percent in the first quarter, faster than expected. The statistics bureau also reported that consumer prices were exactly 3 percent higher in March than a year earlier. Mr. Xie of Morgan Stanley said in a telephone interview that the true increase in consumer prices could be 7 or 8 percent. "The State Council has said they want to keep inflation below 3 percent, so they have to report an increase of 3 percent," he said, referring to China's cabinet. China nach der New Economy also doch "nur" die nächste große Blase?