Confidence slumped and people began to “batten down the hatches” – in just about every industry and every region around the world – more or less simultaneously. Banks became more cautious in lending – most particularly to the property sector, but generally to almost all borrowers – in every country. Other shocks are more particular.
The one most people would think likely to have a differential impact across regions would be the big rise in mining prices and associated buildup in investment that we saw a few years ago, and which has returned over the past year and a half.