Demand for new home loans fell to a nine-year low in April as rising interest rates dampen enthusiasm for housing.

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On the other hand, it seems sensible for investors to have an alternative bolthole to gold, an asset that delivers no yield at all, is very difficult to value, has risen sixfold from its 2001 low and which attracts the kind of public enthusiasm that has marked bubbles in other assets.

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The enthusiasm with which they are cultivated reflects low wages and lack of work elsewhere in the economy.

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Enthusiasm for Treasury bonds is tempered by historically low yields.

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However, the intensive training required, the low income generated, popularization of computer printing technology and diminishing enthusiasm for compiling genealogies have all contributed to a rapid decrease in the number of craftspeople.

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Gartner, an information-technology research-and-advisory firm, has coined the term hype cycle to describe exactly this sort of phenomenon: a new technology is introduced with enthusiasm, only to be followed by an emotional low when it fails to immediately deliver on its promise.

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Asian companies are taking advantage of the renewed enthusiasm from the U.S., borrowing at record low rates.

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