Wheeee! World stock markets continue their freefall.....

[marmar]

from Bloomberg:



Asian Stocks Decline for a Third Day as Global Rout Continues

By Patrick Rial

June 23 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks slumped for a third day, extending a global rout, as a rebound in oil prices stoked concern economic growth will slow and the continuing fallout from the collapse in credit markets dragged financial companies lower.

Posco, Asia's third-largest steelmaker, declined to the lowest in six weeks in Seoul. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's biggest lender by value, dropped for a fifth day.

``The resurgence of risks related to the credit crunch is the most important factor in the market,'' Tomochika Kitaoka, a Tokyo- based strategist at Mizuho Securities Co., said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 1.1 percent to 138.53 as of 9:40 a.m. in Tokyo, the lowest since March 24. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 1.7 percent to 13,707.13. Indexes also declined in Australia, South Korea and New Zealand.

Benchmarks in the U.S. and Europe fell to the lowest in three months on June 20, dragged down by the gain in oil and after analysts predicted banks will post more credit market losses.

Crude oil rebounded from the lowest in a week, climbing 2 percent to $134.62 in New York on June 20 and recently traded at $135.02. The weakening dollar has spurred a flight to commodities and other assets that will retain their value in an inflationary environment.

Citigroup Inc. may add another $8.7 billion in asset writedowns this quarter to the $42 billion it has already announced, according to UBS AG, while Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. predicted UBS AG and Deutsche Bank AG could produce a total of $8.5 billion in asset write-offs for the second quarter. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=akGxvWYQIULA&refer=home

[Theres-a]

1. Look out below!

Should be an interesting week.

[L0oniX]

2. Babylon is falling.

[Speck Tater]

3. Beat me to it.

I've been watching the Nikkei and so far each tick has been lower than the one before.

http://finance.yahoo.com/intlindices?e=asia

[Snarkoleptic]

4. The DJIA will be at 10,600 by the end of Q3.

I'm in cash at the moment, which won't provide a hedge against inflation.
Cash is better than being attached to the 32% drop that's been coming in the Dow.