For example, Procter (PG) had crummy U.S. numbers, worse than expected. But people yawned! Nobody even cared; everyone figured it.

his is a radical revision in thinking. Earlier in this year, McDonald's (MCD) reported a weak December in the U.S. The stock dropped 15% immediately. They just announced U.S. weakness again, and the stock went up! I am not kidding. U.S. was bad, and this time nobody cared.

Caterpillar (CAT)? No different when it reported. Big deal.

United Tech (UTX) had nothing great to say about the U.S. It was Asia.

Heinz (HNZ) saw little growth in the U.S. -- Latin America and Europe provided the big upside.

Yum! Brands (YUM) is a great example. David Novak said, point blank, that the U.S. doesn't have it right now. He's trying to turn the U.S. around, but there are only 3,000 KFCs in China and 18,000 stores in the U.S.; if he did nothing but move to China and flip that ratio, it would be a better use of his time.

Even GM (GM) and Ford (F) get it. The big takeaway for the multi-billion-dollar GM loss isn't that the company is losing money, it's that the company is, radically, weaning itself off the U.S. market. About two-thirds of their business is going overseas. Either they solve their production/union problems in the U.S. or they just give up and leave.

Even GM (GM) and Ford (F) get it. The big takeaway for the multi-billion-dollar GM loss isn't that the company is losing money, it's that the company is, radically, weaning itself off the U.S. market. About two-thirds of their business is going overseas. Either they solve their production/union problems in the U.S. or they just give up and leave.