The reduced Asian demand for food, oil and raw materials was felt by farmers in the US and Canada, Australia and New Zealand; by producers of oil in Mexico and Venezuela, Nigeria and Russia and the Middle East; by copper producers in Chile and exporters of industrial raw materials in Africa and elsewhere. Companies in Rochester and Buffalo found their sales falling.
As the contagion spread, investments in many emerging market countries began to look less promising. Investors became generally more cautious and began looking for safe places to put their money - like buying US government bonds - even at low rates of return. As they saw US companies affected, they became less eager to finance them as well.