| Christmastime is here, and it's time for some holiday joy. Right? Well, maybe. Rodney was all about Christmas this week – it's his favorite time of the year – but both of his contributions to Economy & Markets were clouded by a growing worry that the holiday season is actually exposing some major problems for our economy. We need more spending (and more children to keep that spending going in the future!), even if that spending comes at the expense of some much desirable saving, which isn't always as smart of an act as it's made out to be. On Tuesday, he delivered a hard truth: Even in December, in the world of finance, you're the Secret Santa and hedge funds are the gift recipients. Meanwhile, Harry's attention was firmly on the future. On Monday, he shared his forecast for the next era for Asian countries as developing countries on that side of the globe begin embracing urbanization full-stop. That'll be big news during the next global boom, when the West fades and the East emerges as the dominant power. He stayed on that side of the globe for a bit on Wednesday, getting into Australia's real estate bubble before bringing that conversation back to generational disparities for American homebuyers. Spoiler alert: Millennials don't currently have enough money to buy the homes Boomers are selling. Have a good weekend, and thanks for reading Economy & Markets. VISIT ECONOMY & MARKETS » This Week in Economy & Markets...  Years ago, I can remember my mom coming home from a day of shopping around the holidays and announcing that she'd saved over $600. My dad immediately asked the obvious question. How much had that savings cost? As we peruse the online and brick-and-mortar malls this last week before Christmas, we're barraged with seemingly great...
 How can the same houses go up far faster than inflation for decades, and that possibly be good for an economy? It only benefits older people who bought earlier, and the affluent who buy the most expensive ones that tend to bubble the most. I was just in Australia speaking to my favorite country and...
 I haven't worked in a traditional office in a long time. I miss some of the camaraderie, the ability to bounce ideas around, and the occasional happy hour. But I don't miss some of the personnel issues that pop up, like friction among co-workers, bad-smelling lunches wafting through the office, and the annual Secret Santa....
 I always remind people and economists that Japan was the first Asian Tiger – the first to urbanize rapidly on an S-Curve to $40,000+ GDP per capita PPP and DC (developing country) status in just under 30 years. When I speak in South Korea, I tell them: You are Japan on a 22-year lag for...
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