WALTER RUSSELL MEAD: Bad News Gets Worse For China. “Europe and China have this much in common: the bad economic news just keeps getting worse. The latest headaches for Beijing: Growing numbers of analysts fear that a combination of slumping exports and overexposed loans could spell real trouble for the increasingly vulnerable Chinese economy. . . . It is unlikely that anybody in China has any idea just how much of a mess they have on their hands. Local governments have every incentive to hide the full scope of their borrowing from central authorities — and local banks and businesses often have excellent reasons for helping the local authorities to hide their tracks and borrow and spend still more.”