While US investors have been cheerring on tjheir share market rises, they have, as usual, been missing out of the global perspective. This is how it looks from Australia today. From
Bob Gottliebsen whose columns are usually pretty anodyne.
When George Bush addressed the Australian Parliament he knew that the American market has measured by the Dow Index has risen some 31 per cent since its low point of just over a year ago.
He was therefore confident that Americans were on the recovery trial. But in Australian dollar terms, the Dow Index has risen only 4 per cent since October 9 2002.
In other words, most of recovery in the American stock market reflects the fall in the American dollar. Now it's true the Australian currency has performed better than the Euro and the Yen.
Measured in those currencies, the American share market has had a bigger recovery - but it's not substantial.
We are seeing is a dramatic fall in the value of American assets in the wake of the Americans big spending in Iraq and its determination to borrow large sums to restore growth. This means that overseas investors in the American market are not doing well.
American companies must perform if the stars and stripes is to maintain even current asset levels.
Few Americans, including President Bush, understand just how far their asset base has been down valued.
But the rest of the world does, and pretty soon the dreamers will wake up to their altered reality. Wont be pretty.