U.S. financial panic goes global

Slower trade, investment drought will weigh on battered U.S. economy Traders work on the floor at Brazil's Mercantile and Futures Exchange in Sao Paulo, Monday, Oct. 6, 2008. Latin American stocks plunged Monday, led by a precipitous drop in Brazilian shares. For a time, it appeared that the impact of the recent financial panic and ongoing economic downturn might be largely contained to U.S. consumers, businesses and government leaders. No more. Monday’s global stock market sell-off reinforced fears that the Great American Lending Bubble is now weighing heavily on our major trade partners and the global investors who have been supplying the river of capital that the U.S. economy has come to rely on. The most immediate impact is being felt by exporters, who have enjoyed something a revival in the past few years as a weak... [read full story]