Asia Roaring Out of Recession

Europe remains in a "funk," the U.S. looks uncertain, and Asia is roaring back with double digit growth. In the meantime, consumers in emerging markets combined spent more on consumer goods than U.S. consumers did. It all adds up to a very different global economic picture than 20 years ago. 20 years ago, the U.S. consumer was king, and all the world's exporters paid the most attention to the U.S. which gave Americans unprecedented power to dictate consumer tastes in fashion and electronics. The tide has shifted away from America, and along with that shift, the U.S. influence on a global scale will wane as well.