But then you peer into the Chinese haze - and despair.

Through the haze around the markets last week, a clear reason for this bipolar condition emerges.

And the problem is becoming international: just as Californians can find Chinese-made shoes in their stores, they can now find Chinese-made haze in their skies.

Still, failure always hovers like the smogclouds over Beijing.

On the fifth day after the letter arrived, Susan began to feel queasy, and the bright haze became even more painful.