Indeed, one may wonder whether these two shocks – whether common or country-specific – are really independent. To an important extent, it was a revision to tech-sector prospects that led equity prices lower. A third source of the global slowdown is specific shocks that have occurred in other countries, in addition to those hitting the United States.
I mention this because I don't want the United States to take all the credit. In particular, I believe that some of the credit should be shared with Japan and perhaps also with the emerging Asian economies.