"we are still the consumer of last resort and when we go into recession so will everyone else. Decoupling is a myth."
agreed. for now.
long term, our relative success depends on how quickly we can bring the rest of the world down to our level by selling them the nascar nation dream. keep an eye on decadent trends in these emerging markets like american fast food infiltration along with resultant obesity growth rates. the sooner we can get them to fat, drunk and stupid, the sooner we're back to a level playing field.