Words
in the News
Wednesday 26 March 2003 Vocabulary from the news. Listen to and read the report then find
explanations of difficult words below.
War Markets
Summary: Military developments have affected the world's financial markets. Oil and gold prices have risen; the dollar and European stock markets have fallen. This report by Andrew Walker.
There is a clear pattern to the way financial markets are responding to military developments. The underlying principle is that investors want it all to be over quickly, to dispel the uncertainty that is clouding the economic outlook. Any sign that it might drag on - and developments over the weekend are being interpreted in those terms - makes investors more reluctant to take financial risks.
Shares are a relatively risky asset, so they have fallen. The dollar too has fallen, because, unusually in this war, it too is seen as relatively risky by foreign investors. Gold is the long favoured safe financial refuge, so it has risen.
And the prospect of a relatively long conflict also affects the oil price, because there may be an increased risk of substantial disruption to supplies. All these market price moves are reverses, but only partial reverses, of the shifts that happened when the conflict started last week. Shares are overall still higher and oil lower than they were shortly before the hostilities began.
