Bad Money    • Share   • Read Later  If there’s one thing that
can get people riled in Hong Kong, it’s money. Recently, it’s
been bad money. Fake $1,000 HK bills (worth about $128 US) have
been showing up around town, and retailers and consumers are
spooked. I have managed to remain calm, mainly because the “gold
bull,” as the yellow note is known here, rarely makes its way
into my wallet.  As of today, 1,109 of the counterfeits have
been found, and 12 people have been arrested. The number of
fakes will most likely rise, but thus far they are a tiny
fraction of the 87 million real $1,000 notes out there. So why
are shops refusing to take $1,000 bills, and callers flooding
the government’s hotline? My guess is that most people here have
been passed a bad note at some time in neighboring Guangdong,
and have developed a healthy fear of counterfeit currency. The
province is the center for fake money production in China, and
authorities there are worried about its effect on “the
province’s financial organizations