Business: Spreading Rush to Tangibles

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The real risk of the tangibles scramble is the impact that it has on the economy as a whole. By encouraging an at titude of buy now before the price goes up, panicky consumers are making further and even steeper price increases virtually inevitable. Yet people are not about to change their attitudes until inflation itself is brought under effective control. If that does not happen, the nation may some day discover that "basket of currencies" does not mean merely francs, marks and yen but also, perhaps, bullion, baubles and condos.