US economy just plain irrelevant?

[Rubber Duck]

Japan sees jump in trade surplus

Japanese exports remain strong
Japan's trade surplus hit a 24-year high in August, with surging exports to other Asian nations and Europe offsetting slower sales to the US.
The monthly surplus grew 288% from a year earlier to 743bn yen ($6.47bn; £3.2bn), led by rising car exports.

While exports to other Asian countries soared 16.4% and to Europe by 15.6%, those to the US rose by just 4.6%....

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7013621.stm

[touchring]

I don't know about the UK or US, but the markets in East Asia, South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh) has been quite hot the past year or so. This is what has been keeping oil and commodity prices high.

Unless something stupid like a new war in the middle east happens, or poor people start rebeling everywhere as they do in Burma, i don't think there will be a major slow down in the short term.

Maybe there is a decoupling, or maybe it is a bubble. I don't really know.