Allerede før august 1989 blev der kon­stateret tegn på afsvækkelse i flere lande i form af stagnation i investerin­gerne, fornyet stramning af pengepoli­tikken og vanskeligheder for det ameri­kanske finansielle system.
Even before last August, there were signs of a slowdown in many countries as investment tailed off, monetary pol­icy tightened and difficulties appeared in the American financial system.