For the best part of the last year, the US has seemed immune to Europe’s woes, but now cracks are beginning to emerge. With the recovery fading, the US may even have slipped back into negative growth in the second quarter, though that still remains a minority view. Even so, most anticipate at best anaemic growth of little more than 1pc in annualised terms, and that’s before we encounter the dreaded “fiscal cliff”, which could suck as much as 4pc out of US output.