China's Half-A-Trillion Dollar Stimulus

You might not pick him out of the crowd, but China's President Hu Jintao could have a big impact on American pocketbooks, reports CBS News correspondent Barry Petersen.

That's because China is going forward with a half-a-trillion-dollar stimulus package that will finance a range of infrastructure projects, from schools and subways to power plants and hospitals.

The Chinese government says that will create jobs for laborers who were laid off when factories closed as exports to the U.S. fell, a sign of China's suddenly slowing economy which for years enjoyed double digit growth.

And the stimulus could bolster confidence with China's exploding consumer class.

"So when an apartment is sold to a family, the family will spend more money buying furniture, buying construction material to further decorate the apartment," says Professor David Li, a Chinese economist.

And, here in the United States, it means continued profits for American companies like GM selling Buicks made in China.

On the other hand, America could be hurt if the Chinese divert cash away from buying U.S. bonds toward projects at home. That could drive up interest rates for Americans.

Meanwhile in Japan, individual investors are flocking back into to the stock market. They see a market down a third as a big opportunity and "Mom and Pop" investors have poured $10 billion into stocks just last month.

"Our investors are like Warren Buffet," says one Japanese analyst. "They risk their own money and now they see a chance to buy stocks at twenty-year lows."

If Asia can just keep its economies chugging along, Petersen reports, that could ease any recession in the rest of the world.

So wish Japanese investors - and China's Hu Jintao - good luck. America's financial crisis may have pulled the world down, but upbeat Asian economies might just lead the way back.