Two unsettling stories from Shanghai Daily in my inbox greeted me as I awoke:

First, the just plain bizarre:

In an effort to cash in on the 80th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army, China Unicom, the country’s second largest mobile phone operator, has launched its own military-related service. Subscribers to the unusual new service will be able to receive military news from the People’s Liberation Army newspaper, and and they’ll be able to download military songs and movies for eight to 10 yuan (US$1.32) a month, or two yuan for each clip or track.

Second, more evidence of rampant stock speculation that makes me nervous:

Shanghai’s banking regulator said yesterday that savings account withdrawals more than doubled in the first half, as cash was apparently lured away by the booming stock market. Bank deposits in Shanghai dropped for four months in the first half of this year, falling by about 120 billion yuan (US$15.85 billion) for the period, authorities calculated.

Hey, if it makes you feel any better, maybe those people are just raiding their savings to engage in rampant real estate speculation as opposed to the stock market. (That was my feeble attempt at early morning humor - I should stop doing that.)