2H08 benefits reversing, paving the way for 2009 earnings to sink below 2008 — Input costs, predominately commodity prices, fell more quickly than exportsin 2H08. This allowed margins to temporarily expand. The recent acceleration in the decline of export growth rates is now beginning to reverse this windfall. As commodity input costs represent a small portion of most Asian companies' total costs, the sharp decline in exports has all the makings of turning 2009 into an even worse year for earnings than 2008.