•  The US economy exhibited in the late stages of its expansion two or three developments which arguably warranted the use of the term “bubble”:  •  The US stock market, particularly the technology sector as measured by the NASDAQ, rose to exceptional heights and has since fallen.
The broad indices such as the S&P 500 or the Wilshire are down by about 25 per cent from their peak, whereas in Australia the ASX 200 is only down about 4 per cent. •  In the United States, there was a burst of physical investment towards the end of the expansion, mainly in high technology equipment.