I saw them in the Hollywood movies that flooded the theatres, the neon signboards of the American multinationals and fast-food chains that dotted the skyline, and the gravitational pull that Wall Street exerted on the region's stock markets.

Since September, however, the headlines have been painting a very different picture of the world's largest economy - catastrophic meltdowns in the financial and housing sectors, joblessness at a 25-year high and the demise, or near death, of once iconic global firms like Lehman Brothers and General Motors (GM).

Read the full report in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.