I think the herbie bashing is a bit uncalled for as well. I think he is the only one in this thread that has spoken any sense on this matter.
Well said I am more worried about things closer to home in the UK Think we need to sort our country out first and get our priorities right .
I posted this item because it was a major news event and just announced when I posted.
It may not have an immediate effect on our individual lives here but it will impact on the politics of the whole world.
Also we have members here who have friends and family in Pakistan.
Bhutto assassination hits world markets
Stock markets worldwide have fallen as the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto sparked fears of civil unrest in the nuclear-armed country and instability in the region.
Asian and US stocks tumbled overnight and European shares dipped this morning. The FTSE 100 was down 42.1 points at one stage, a fall of 0.6%. By mid-morning it had recovered to be down 10.6 points at 6,487.2 in its last full trading session before the end of the year. A fall today would end a six-day winning run.
Germany's DAX fell 0.3% while France's CAC 40 was down 0.4% mid-morning.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei index dropped 1.7% on its last trading day of 2007. It was down 11% for the year at 15,307.78, its first annual loss in five years and putting it on track to be the world's worst-performing major stock market this year. The Nikkei is now closed until next Friday.
Shares in Australia, South Korea, Hong Kong and New Zealand also fell overnight, with benchmark indices down between 0.3% and 1.7%. In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 1.4%, or 192.08 points, at 13,359.61.
Bhutto's assassination in a gun and bomb attack as she left a political rally in Rawalpindi yesterday have cast doubts on elections scheduled for January 8, although Pakistan's caretaker prime minister said today they would go ahead as planned.
Gold traded close to a one-month high this morning, as some investors moved out of stocks and into safer assets.
The spot price of gold climbed as high as $829.30 per ounce in early trading after hitting a fresh one-month high of $831.10 yesterday. Gold was also supported by strong energy prices, with US crude oil trading near $97 a barrel after hitting a one-month high of $97.79 yesterday.
"Pakistan is a crucial country in the region and the prospect of political uncertainty is leading to some nervousness [reflected in] gold, bond and oil prices rising," said Audrey Childe-Freeman, an economist at CIBC World Markets.
Trading on the Karachi Stock Exchange has been suspended for three days for a period of mourning.
Julia Kollewe
Friday December 28 2007
Guardian Unlimited
© Guardian News and Media Limited 2007