Not only is Iraq an ethical and operational failure, it's bad for business:
05:45 ET European Summary: Global equities plunge amid renewed terror concerns, record-high oil prices : European markets showing steep losses as the post-election carnage in India and concern that record-high oil prices will hamper economic growth and hurt earnings led stocks to 2004 lows. Also, a suicide car bomb killed at least nine people outside the main coalition headquarters in Baghdad on Monday, including the head of the U.S.-appointed Governing Council, officials said. Airlines declined on concern rising fuel prices will eat into profits. British Airways (BAB), Europe's second-biggest airline, fell 4 percent, to its lowest since Jan. 5, after saying it expects a tough winter. Competition and higher oil prices will hurt revenue this year, co's CEO said. Mining sector getting hit as China's seven largest copper producers said on Monday they planned to cut imports of their key raw material, copper concentrate, due to easing domestic metal prices. Insurance under pressure as investors worried about the sector's sizeable equity holdings after several weeks of market declines. Dutch insurer Aegon was off 4.3 percent, while British Aviva dropped three percent. France's Axa fell 3.7 percent. Among the day's top casualties, shares in French heavy engineering firm Alstom (ALS) tumbled 8.7 percent ahead of a meeting between the French government and the European Commission to discuss a 4.7 billion euro rescue plan for the group... The dollar tumbled across the board on Monday as bomb blasts in Turkey and Iraq heightened global security fears, encouraging investors to dump the U.S. currency after a week-long rally, Reuters reporting... UK -1.42%, Germany -2.06%, France -1.98%
<note to self: this may be a blow off bottom leading to a summer rally>
John |
