Economic Decoupling?

The United States has been the driver of the world economy for several decades. Decoupling happens when nations' economic fortunes are no longer directly driven by USA markets. Here are a couple of recent interesting stories from Mark Perry:

Carpe Diem: Bustling Shopping Malls in Brazil Are A Far Cry from the Consumer Gloom in Europe and the U.S.

The Brazilian stock market (Bovespa Index) has increased 20% since late October to 41,674, during a period when the U.S. stock market (S&P 500) has dropped by more than 10% (see chart above, click to enlarge).

Carpe Diem: China Looks Set to Be the First Major Economy to Recover from the Global Meltdown

Since the first of the year, China's Shanghai SE Composite Index is up by 23.5%, and is up 36% from the early November bottom (see chart above).

Back in March of 2008, this article in the Economist reported that for the first time, more trade was done with China by emerging nations than with the United States. This Economist article from last month also alludes to a possible decoupling.

With the GDP of emerging nations growing at double the rate for the United States and the developed world over the past decade, decoupling would inevitably occur. We will see what the near future holds.