What is Disturbia?

Since about 2005 I have prognosticated about oil prices and the future of the global economy. Over the past 2 years trouble had spread with increasing speed, but it was nevertheless possible to 'see it coming'. Now, there is such intense volatility, it is difficult to forecast what is likely to happen on a given day. The markets are on disarray. Ask anyone in banking - uncertainty/instability is bad for business, and the markets have never been this uncertain.

clipped from www.ft.com Japanese shares closed at their lowest levels since 1982 and Hong Kong suffered its worst fall for 11 years as investors continued to fret about the outlook for the global economy in the wake of the credit squeeze. There was no respite from the recent sell-off in emerging market assets as risk aversion remained high. The yen and the dollar continued to benefit from this deleveraging, in spite of concerns about possible central bank intervention to weaken the Japanese currency. “The effects of the credit crash continue to ripple through the global economy,” said Gareth Williams, equity strategist at ING. “Emerging markets are now suffering as decoupling proves to be the illusion we always thought it was.”