The price of oil has dropped dramatically.
Was this price decrease engineered to help
counter the ill effects of the 9/11 attacks
and to lift us out of the recession we are now in?
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Attacks on US may help economies recover
WASHINGTON -- When Osama bin Laden's terrorist network crashed airliners into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, it set off a chain of events that includes at least one the Saudi exile didn't intend: a slump in oil prices that may help lead the US and other western economies out of recession.
'Osama will overall have a positive effect,' said Giancarlo Giglio, chairman of Italian software maker Datamat SpA.
'The western world has been given the possibility of an economic recovery. Employment will grow. A lot of opportunities will come out of this.'
The terrorist attacks on Sept 11 killed almost 5,000 people. Seven blocks of New York City were destroyed, and 125,000 jobs evaporated.
The city's economy lost an estimated US$83 billion, according to New York City Partnership, an advocacy group. The attacks probably plunged the US into a recession, Federal Reserve policy makers concluded at their Oct 2 meeting.
Two months after the attacks, the tide has turned.
Osama and the Taleban regime that harbours him are on the run in Afghanistan, as opposition forces take advantage of US military power to grab control.
Troops for Osama's Al-Qaeda network reportedly are killing Taleban soldiers who want to surrender.
And with crude oil down US$11 a barrel in two months, falling to near a two-year low, economists predict there may be an early end to the recession.
A US$10 drop in the oil price boosts world trade by about 0.5 per cent a year, according to estimates by HSBC Holdings.
Money that consumers and business save buying cheaper oil will be spent on other things, giving Western economies a boost.
'Low oil prices are very stimulatory for economies,' said Mr Tony Pearson, Global Head of Markets at National Australia Bank. 'They spur growth and keep inflation in check, allowing policy makers to lower interest rates harder and faster for longer.' - BLOOMBERG |
