Ries right again!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4VieMjZYfI

Oh - and one more thing. The figures that you have quoted for Japanese manufacturing output - does that include manufacturing undertaken for Japanese companies in other Asian countries? As you well know, the hallmark of an advanced enconomy is the establishment of offshore manufacturing in c ountries with cheaper labour.

I consider that your extremely selective use of information to be highly misleading. The Nikkei was at 40,000 because of a speculative and property bubble that burst, the American IT companies that you have compared with the Japanese are extreme global performers with some of the most enduring brand names. If you normalise the average American company and the average Japanese company and review their free cashflow growth rates since 1990, you'll find little difference. The Americans have some advantages - innovation, competitiveness, the Japanese others - organisation, loyalty.