On world markets fall on global growth fears

In the United States, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 1. 1pc to 11,984, while the broader S & P 500 index fell 1. 2pc and the Nasdag slid 1. 2pc.

Chinese exports slow in may as world demand has hesitated. This came a drop on the part of British industrial production in April and recent reports from United States showing an anemic recovery.

The price of oil was also fell after Saudi Arabia began to offer more oil to Asian refiners, with Brent crude in London down a $1.25 to $118.32 in afternoon trading.

"The world economy embarked on a"soft patch"and this is particularly the case for developed countries, but no one knows what the magnitude and duration will be," said Herve Goulletquer, analyst at Credit Agricole.

The uncertainty caused stock market sentiment to turn sour. In Europe, the FTSE 100 closed down 1. 5pc to 5,765, while the Germany DAX fell 1. 2pc and the CAC 40 in France fell by 1. 9pc.

In the United States, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 1. 1pc to 11,984, while the broader S & P 500 index fell 1. 2pc and the Nasdag slid 1. 2pc.

In the currencies market, the euro continued its descent of recent summits of one month after the Germany have voted for a second package of assistance for the Greece, provided that the holders of bonds share the load. It is in disagreement with the opinion of the European Central Bank who fear that any change to the Greek debt could trigger a "credit event" which, to injure other fragile economies of the euro area.

"The escalation of tensions between the Germany and of the ECB - tensions who believes that markets had been resolved - has been a key factor in undermining confidence,"said Derek Halpenny, global European research head of currency at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.""

"For financial markets to remain stable and sustained euro must be a resolution of the German-ECB conflict", he added.

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World Bank fears Europe's crisis could set off deeper global slump than Lehman collapse

"The global economy has entered a dangerous phase. The financial system of the largest economic bloc in the world is threatened by a fiscal and financial crisis that has so far eluded policy-makers’ efforts to contain it," said the bank in its Global Economic Perspectives.

"The possibility of further escalation of the crisis in Europe cannot be ruled out. Should this happen, the ensuing global downturn is likely to be deeper and longer-lasting than the recession of 2008/2009 because countries do not have the fiscal and monetary space to stimulate the global economy. Activity is unlikely to bounce back as quickly."

"An escalation of the crisis would spare no one," said Andrew Burns, the key author. "Developing countries should hope for the best and plan for the worst. If these downside risks materialised there is not much developing countries can do to prevent it. But they can prepare for it."

The report said rich countries had used up their fiscal and monetary shock absorbers after the Lehman crisis. While some poorer states still have the means to cushion the blow, many have already pushed fiscal deficits and credit growth to the limits of safety.

"Developing countries would have much less fiscal space than in 2008 with which to react to a global slowdown. As a result, if financial conditions deteriorate, many of these countries could be forced to cut spending pro-cyclically, thereby exacerbating the cycle."

The bank said there is a risk that turmoil in Europe could interact with the delayed effects of monetary tightening in Asia and Latin America, reinforcing each other in a "downward overshooting of activity".

The bank cut its global forecast from 3.4pc to 2.5pc for 2012, warning that the eurozone has already fallen into recession and is likely to contract by 0.3pc this year. "The possibility of much worse outcomes are real," it said. If Europe’s financial system to seizes up, this could lop a further 4pc off global GDP.

"While contained for the moment, the risk of a much broader freezing up of capital markets and a global crisis similar in magnitude to the Lehman crisis remains. The willingness of markets to finance the deficits and maturing debt of high-income countries cannot be assured. Should more countries find themselves denied such financing, a much wider financial crisis that could engulf private banks and other financial institutions on both sides of the Atlantic cannot be ruled out. The world could be thrown into recession as large or even larger than that of 2008-09."

The consequences would be dire for 30-odd countries with external finance needs above 10pc of GDP. The bank advised these states to "prefinance" their needs while the credit markets are still open, reducing the risk of a sudden crunch. Commodity exporters should brace for a fall in oil and metal prices of almost a quarter.

Emerging markets have already seen a rise in average bond spreads of 117 basis points since last July. Global trade volumes contracted at an 8pc annual rate in the three months to October. Capital flows to developing countries fell to $170bn in the second half of 2011 from $309bn a year earlier.

In a veiled attack on Europe’s austerity policies the bank said "it is not yet clear whether there is an end in sight to the vicious circle whereby budget cuts to restore debt sustainability reduce growth and revenues to the detriment of debt sustainability".

The bank’s "downside scenario" involves a credit freeze in two "larger Euro Area economies". Such an event would cause a further contraction of Euroland’s GDP by 6pc over the next two years. The bank stopped short of modelling what would happen if the eurozone breaks up altogether.

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U.S. debt deadlock étincelles new fears of market

To the United States, the Commission join on the reduction of the deficit still works to cut trillions of dollars from the budget despite the breakdown of Thanksgiving.  Photo: GETTY

The impasse between the Republicans and the Democrats warring on efforts to find a $ 1.2 billion (£ 767bn) savings came in as the rose over $ 15 billion US national debt.

According to reports, the rival parties were preparing to announce today that they could not agree on the packaging of increases in taxes or cutting spending.

The deadline for an agreement of the so-called supercommittee was Wednesday, but the Commission was asked to put forward a plan at the end of today to give time to Congressional Budget Office to assess the real effects on the deficit.

Failure to strike an agreement would trigger automatic cuts of an equivalent amount in 2013 of spending for Defense and other government agencies.

The standoff is reminiscent of delays and arguments in July to raise U.S. debt ceiling. A agreement of last minute was not struck, the United States would have technically violated.

Disputes, was the first evidence of the vacuum of leadership that has frightened the United States and Europe markets.

Yusuf Heusen, a merchant of sale at IG Index, said: "News that the United States have hit a deadlock on recognizes budget cuts wishes to remind the traders of the last time legislators an impasse in the summer and the subsequent fallout that followed.".

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Saudi shares hit 20 months down fears of contagion of protest

The Saudi benchmark lost 20pc since reaching its 2010 high, there are market bears territory Photo: Reuters

The Tadawul all indexes reference share fell 6 8pc 5,539 points, with Saudi Arabia Basic Industries, manufacturer of petrochemicals most, 7 8pc of landslide.

The index has lost 20pc since reaching its 2010 high, taking into bear market territory.

"Reports of certain arrests of a cleric caused gout." It is now a great fear of contagion in Saudi, said Haissam Arabi, Chief Executive and Manager Gulfmena Alternative Investments funds. "However, things are not all in clear fact that continuing the fall in stocks." There is no clear answer at this time. »

Saudi authorities detained a clerc of Shi'ite in the Eastern Province after he called for a constitutional monarchy and of ending corruption and discrimination, human rights activists said Reuters Tuesday.

Minority of Shi'ite of Arabia, believed be 10pc-15pc of the Saudi population, 18 m has long complained of discrimination, a charge denied by the authorities.

"It is sell all levels." There are several rumors out there and it seems that investors of all the class and type are drawing a line on the markets, says Nadi Bargouti, head of asset management at the Shu'a Capital in Dubai.

"No single person, without unique portfolio can move markets to this extent." It is a complete shock. »

On 17 February, the Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Member of the Royal family of Saudi Arabia, said that the Kingdom may see protests unless King Abdullah proposes reforms, according to the BBC Arabic TV.

The King has increased spending on housing by riyals (£ 7bn) on 23 February. It has increased the budget of the social security of billion riyals, ordered the creation of 1 200 jobs and make a cost of living allowance 15pc permanent employees of the Government.

Saudi Arabia is the world's biggest exporter of oil and the largest Arab economy. Gross won 0 9pc $97.81 US per barrel to 8 pm in e-commerce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Shares Japan tumble as fears of the nuclear crisis create panic

The damaged Fukushima Daiichi Central nuclear where several explosions took place. Photo: Getty

The benchmark Nikkei 225 closed 5 FP7, with the broader Topix 6 FP6 increase but London of the main shares index added just points of 0 1pc with 5,700.81 open.

Gains in Europe has been also muted DAX 30 Frankfurt 0 FP7 and Paris's CAC 40 amounting to 0 5pc.

Other Asian markets had followed Japan higher, then even if the number of victims human and economic disasters, including an escalation of the nuclear crisis, remains uncertain.

At a time given the Nikkei climbed more FP6 but fell back after the Japan suspended operations to prevent a nuclear power plant disaster down after a surge of radiation is too dangerous for the workers to remain in the installation.

Most wanted shopkeepers deals after panic selling sent the index sinking 10 FP6 the day before. The Nikkei closed at its lowest level in nearly two years on Tuesday after the fall of more than 1 600 points, or 16pc, during two days - its worst two-day sell-off since 1987.

During this time, the Central Bank has pumped cash markets of money from Tokyo for a third day.

The Bank of the Japan injected 3.5 billion yen (£ 27bn), following injections totalling 23 billion yen ($283 billion) over the last two days. Contributing to banking shares perk up, lifting Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, the largest bank in the country, 2 2pc.

Exporters of power plant of the Japan took their breath after suffering staggering losses. Toyota Motor, constructor of no. 1 in the world, increased 6 4pc, Sony shot up to 7 5pc and truck-maker Isuzu was 7 3pc higher.

Industry heavy share rose the shock of the disaster gave way to thoughts of the reconstruction. Kobe Steel rose 11 3pc and Matsu Construction increased 4 8pc.

However, investors still remain tight on a crisis of change quickly to a central nuclear crippled northeast of the Japan. Authorities were still struggling to control the situation at the plant in Fukushima Dai-ichi after a string of explosions and fires, and a burst of radiation.

"It's very early days for the calculation of any impact on the economy and the stock and bond markets," said Sarah Williams, head of Japanese equities at Threadneedle based in London, which manages approximately $65bn assets.

"Until the safety of these plants is assured, investors remain cautious."

Markets elsewhere in the region of pointe. ABN Korea of added South 1. 8pc 1,957.29 and S & P/ASX 200 the Australia increased by 0. FP7 to 4,558.20. Landmarks in New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan were also higher.

Shanghai Composite China has 1. 1pc, and actions on the Hang Seng in Hong Kong were flat.

Markets in Indonesia and the Philippines - who rely on the Japan for a relatively large share of their export - were down. Viet Nam and the Malaysia also fell.

The nuclear crisis swept financial markets of the world Tuesday as fears grew that the disaster to the Japan could slow the global economy. The Japan is the third largest global economy, manufacturing goods of automotive computer chips and bought 10pc of U.S. exports.

However, Wall Street counter. Index Dow Jones Industrial closed just 1. 1pc - or 137.74.49 points-11, 855. 42after fall as much as 3pc at a given time. FTSE 100 Xenopus Britain also melts to terminate 1. 38pc to 5,695,28. Earlier, the blue-chips were fallen to a minimum of expense 5622.53 year, wiping about £ 32bn offshore of the value of the index.

Levels of market in London and New York had expected a rebound in Japanese stocks today, claiming that the world liquidation had been exaggerated.

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World markets fall on fears U.S. blockade of debt default

The collapse of negotiations between John Boehner and President Obama leaves the possibility of the first major default value by the United States. Photo: GETTY

Brinkmanship political Washington on the ceiling of the country's debt of $ 14.3 billion ($ 8.8 billion of £) pushed gold in a record of $1.616 an ounce and the Swiss franc higher against the dollar.

In New York, the Dow Jones opened 104 points - or 0 8pc - at 12,572.36, with the broader S & P 500 and the Nasdaq also sliding. FTSE 100 index in London, leading shares fell from 0 3pc in 5918.24, in Germany of DAX dragged 0 1pc and the France CAC 0 4pc.

A US Congress strongly divided pursued plans budget rival Monday that appears unlikely to win broad support, pushing the United States more about a failure to downgrade and debt ratings would send new shock waves world markets.

In Nikkei 225 of the Tokyo Asia 0. 8pc lost, Hang Seng Hong Kong slipped 0. FP7, Nestle in Seoul fell 1pc and fell ASX Australian 1. FP6. Shanghai Composite China slipped by 2 96pc and the Shenzhen Composite declined 3 75pc, with the railway accident of last Saturday, also have an impact.

"The only thing you can be sure in the next hours and days is the volatility as continuing political posturing in the United States, said Ben Potter, strategist, IG markets market, in a report."

Weeks of talks between Democrats and Republicans to raise the ceiling of the debt of $ 14.3 billion ($ 8.8 billion of £) of the country and prevent by default do not relate to this product, and the negotiations between President Obama and John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, disintegrated Friday.

The President now faces a rush to get an agreement agreed and voted by the Congress prior to the date limit of 2 August, when the United States will never know her first by default. A plunge in markets in the world shows that there are concerns that this would not be possible, or anxiety as possible these increases or spending cuts.

Futures contracts indicated that Wall Street will also be slide, the Dow Jones, the broader S & P 500 and NASDAQ technology rich of forecasting open downwards on 1pc.

The US is facing increasing pressure to reach a resolution, as the impact of U.S. default would be felt around the world. Business Secretary Vince Cable said the BBC Andrew Marr Sunday that it could have repercussions for the United Kingdom.

"The irony of the situation at the moment, with opening tomorrow morning, markets, is that the greatest threat to the global financial system has been a few nutters right in the US Congress rather than the euro area," he said.

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Nikkei opens 4pc lower on fears of "nuclear disaster" Japan

Markets have been at the Bank of the Japan, to intervene as a yen very poorly exporters of the country, potentially deepening damage already serious Japan by multiple disasters.

"It intensified speculation of the Bank of the Japan markets will soon intervene to limit their support of the yen," said analyst NAB Capital David de Garis.

US officials in Washington warned that the plant in Fukushima Dai-ichi can be on the point of spewing more radioactive, as Japanese military helicopters continued to dump water on a stricken reactor to try to avoid that a complete breakdown. They said the Americans to remain at least 50 kilometres of the plant.

"Foreign investors continued to dump stocks on growing fears about nuclear accidents." Also, investors are worried that the earthquake and the nuclear disaster certainly could dent economic growth, "said Masatoshi Sato, a market analyst at Mizuho investors securities."

Main landmarks across Asia were also lower. Hong Kong Hang Seng index lost 2pc, of Shanghai Composite Index slid 1. 2pc, Australia of the ASX dipped 0. 1pc, and the India Sensex fell 0. 4pc.

ABN Korea of southern edged up to 0 1pc.

The Central Bank of the Japan injected cash in on the currency markets of Tokyo for three days in a row, an injection of total liquidity 55.6 billion yen (£ 430bn) since Monday.

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones fell 242.12 points-2. 04pc - close to 11613.3, frightened by the fear of nuclear catastrophe. The biggest fallers were IBM (-3.1 8pc), General Electric (-3.1 3pc) and Boeing (-3pc). Business electric and energy were hard these days that the benefits of the Japanese earhtquake and tsunami continues to disrupt supply and grid lines in the country of power.

The & S P 500 fell by 1. 95pc and the technology-rich Nasdaq Composite slid 1. 89pc.

The U.S. index followed the FTSE 100. Despite the British blue-chips opening day until slightly, they fell 1. FP7 - or 97.05 points - a minimum of three months expenses of 5598.23 on Wednesday. France of lost 2 23pc ACC and Frankfurt's DAX fell 2 01pc.

Angus Campbell, head of sales at Capital spreads, said: "investors have received another scare after the Commissioner of the EU energy today announced that the situation there was achieved out of control." Are the vendors because on the market and at one point, that the future Nikkei fell to three hundred points within ten minutes. »

Markets had been agitated throughout the day of the crisis in the power plant nuclear Fukushima damaged by the earthquake in the Japan has intensified.

Guenther Oettinger, Minister of energy of the European Union, said the European Parliament: "In the next few hours it could be more catastrophic events, which could pose a threat to the life of the inhabitants of the island."

He said the nuclear site is "effectively out of control:"cooling systems have not worked, and as a result, we are somewhere between a disaster and a major disaster.""

Feeling the market was still blocked by the increase in the price of oil following clashes in Bahrain, downgrade of a Moody of the debt of the Portugal and the United States poor economic data showing wholesale pricing pressures greater than expected and the recession in construction to a low near record housing.

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Nuclear sector is facing delays in security fears

The German Chancellor, who indicated that some plants could be closed more quickly than expected, said that "all which will be put under review."

Fresh explosions at the nuclear plant of Fukushima Daiichi promoted Japan of fears for the safety of the sector which have been taken by the Governments of the world.

The Swiss Government has suspended plans to build and replace nuclear power plants. Doris Leuthard, Minister of energy Switzerland, announced that a ban on "coverage" permission for nuclear and new replacements built "until that safety standards were carefully examined and if necessary adapted." Minister of the environment in Austria, Nikolaus Berlakovich, called a stress test of scale of the European Union "to" see if our nuclear power plants are evidence of earthquake.""

Analysts warned that the development of the U.S. nuclear industry could be delayed by political backlash being given that General Electric, the U.S. engineering giant, provided reactors at Fukushima.

In Britain, the Ministry of energy and climate change has insisted that its initial response - request a report - was not sufficient for the moment. A DECC spokesperson said: "we should not make snap judgments at this time, but we need to make sure that we can carefully determine what lessons can be learned."

The European Union called today to a meeting of the authorities of the nuclear safety and operators to assess Europe's emergency procedures.

UBS analysts warned: "" this accident could lead to more delays with the Governments and authorities of security... additional pressure on the security systems could increase costs for existing and new nuclear. "" URANIUM stocks were shaken by the earthquake of the Japan as traders fled the companies for a global clamp-down on nuclear power.

The power of the disaster was felt first by the Australian Securities Exchange, where about $1. 5bn struck the value of listed companies of resources.

Energy resources of Australia, which is controlled by listed London Rio Tinto plunged over the 12pc of close to $8.25; Paladin energy plunged 17pc; and extract resources dropped nearly of 8pc.

Resources of Berekeley, which is listed on the London Alternative Investment market (AIM) fell almost 15pc. 17 The Germany nuclear power plant operators have been affected - E.On has dropped almost FP7 while RWE has fallen more than 5 percent.

In the Canada, another centre for global resource companies, stocks have been hit that open markets - One of Uranium, fell 25pc; Cameco has decreased by 15pc; Denison plunged to 24pc.

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Euro slide gathers pace on the fears of the debt crisis

The currency fell to $1.2997 against the dollar in trade on Tuesday morning, his lowest point in two months, even if it later recovered back losses after U.S. consumer confidence burned in November at the highest level of five months.

The brightest prospects suggest u.s. consumers might be more willing to open their wallets in addition, despite the high unemployment rate.

Agreement of a package of emergency aid of €Ireland stunned by bailing out on its shores, costs 85bn failed to allay the fears of market on the health of the euro area.

Concerns are now focusing on other countries responsible for debt with the Spain Portugal for more in-depth examination.

Governments have seen the cost of soar them loan during the past weeks and bond - yields rewards investors seek to take on the risk - increase again.

Gaps between the Spanish and Italian 10-year bond gives German cue points, which have a strong status, have reached their highest level since the euro was launched in 1999.

The crisis has started the year Greece, who was since a rescue operation last €110bn EU and the IMF, and thorough this month in the Middle fears holders will have to share future costs orchestrated.

An area of concern is that the Spain economy is twice as large as Greece, Ireland and combined Portugal prompting fears about safety net for the €750bn euro area may be almost enough if the country requires that aid.

Similarly, although most analysts view Italy at the lowest risk, the country is now called "too big" failure"and"too big to bail.

The cost of backup most euro-dette area is also on the rise, with five credit default swaps (CDS) - instruments that operate as insurance against a default country - Irish debt place 13 basis points to 6 25pc, which means that it now costs €services to ensure that the 10 million euros worth of bonds Irish.

Even the France, which is considered, along with Germany as one of the more stable members of the euro area is affected, with 5-year CDS amounting 6 points basic 1. 05pc, reflecting concerns about the toll of bailing out weaker economies.

Latest figures show Germany unemployment fell again in November, confirming its status as a powerhouse in the euro area.

The British pound gains as investors seek a safer alternative in the euro area. Sterling has jumped to its highest level since September 20 and was directed against the euro for its biggest monthly gain since January 2009.

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Mooring fears weigh on Cairn and Vedanta

Platform of 53,000 tons of the activists were Cairn Sunday to try to prevent the company from drilling in the Arctic waters off the coast of the island of the North Atlantic. That made investors take, at the forefront of their minds were concerns over proposed sale of the Cairn of a Cairn in India Vedanta game. They agreed the agreement last August, but it was delayed by a dispute over royalty payments with the partner of the Cairn India, State, oil and natural gas Corp.

Last week, it was suggested that the Ministers have recommended a conditional approval, analysts at the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch to think that the terms of the agreement could be more difficult than expected.

However, they were still optimistic. Keeping their rating on Cairn, they have said that it "buy" were always "options on the table" and kept their price target of 520 p as they expect a formal announcement of the Government prior to the evaluation of the exact impact on the value of the Cairn.

In contrast, Collins Stewart analysts were more sceptical. Cut their rating on Cairn to "hold" from "buy" with a target of reduced price of 460 p, they said: "following the outcome of the meeting of the"group of Ministers"last Friday, we believe project for the sale of the Cairn of a game in Cairn in India Vedanta is unlikely to receive the unconditional approval of Government." Therefore see us as fairly valued stock given the risks associated with the harp program "added analysts."

After having initially slipped back about 1. FP6, the actions of the Cairn pared their losses at end of day 1. 2pc just off the coast of p 441.2. Vedanta hangar 17 p to £ 21.52. While they were in decline, the largest dealers increased market took heart from reports the debt crisis of that the Greece could soon be resolved.

As Europe has intensified efforts to prepare a second package to bail out for the Greece, the FTSE 100 climbed 51.12 points to 5,989.99 while the FTSE 250 jumped 101.99 to 12,060.79 points.

Oil prices were also checking upper and - apart from Cairn - explorers have been under the spotlight, analysts turned their attentions to companies looking for black gold. Write on the exploration and production companies, analysts at Goldman Sachs suggested that M & A has remained a "key theme" in the industry, with national oil companies among the probable predator. Analysts estimate that the most active are likely to be attractive and consider companies that have discovered resources more 200 million barrels on a single site, potentially be of interest.

This includes Gulf Keystone petroleum and Energy Cove. The former skip 12 to 157½p Cove, then a better Penny at 86½p.

Citigroup analysts also were considering potential consolidation in the sector, suggesting that recent weakness in prices share could increase the risk of M & A. They believed that the companies that provide high growth of production and the medium-term cash flows were most likely to attract a suitor. The first choice in the area of the CITI are Premier oil, 13.7 to 476.7 p, rare, up to 1.9 in 343,5 p, soco International, up to 17.8 in 397½p and BowLeven, from 6 to 307 p.

Return on the highest level, Wolseley - which updates on Wednesday trade - gained ground as the weekend of press articles argued that the building and merchant plumbers had three companies of the United Kingdom - Centre of Build, Electric Center and Encon - for sale. Analysts of Panmure Gordon said more divestments would be good for sentiment. However, they have been for reasons to be cautious on the stock, including the "erratic" of the United States housing data. Although they have kept their "sell" rating, Wolseley jumped 67% to £ seiners.

Johnson matthey was also on the rise in advance a trading update. Specialty chemicals company announces its annual results on Thursday and the Royal Bank of Scotland, analysts are expecting this year the company "" best... for now"." Contributing to Johnson Matthey climb 94 p £ 21.19 to claim the gold medal.

Not far behind was Serco, which revealed that he bought a company Indian outsourcing - Intelenet - 385 million from £. Although some analysts thought the deal was expensive, they saw as of strategic importance and Serco checked up 19½ to 577 p.

His colleagues, living, advanced support services company thwarts 736 p as he purchased recruitment health company, Team24, for 24 million to £.

Moreover, wise continued to be supported by talk of selling one of its divisions Software Corporation, 3½ rise to known p, while he was also vague speculation of break autour Unilever, with the owner of Ben & Jerry ice cream and SOAP Lux putting on 31 p to £ 19.71.

Snippets of minors were too, with Fresnillo 48 p £ 14,58 and Randgold resources reaching 86 p £ 50.15, more and more on the ascendant. But others fared less well, with Eurasian natural resources Corporation shedding 10 to 845½p as analysts at Bernstein cautioned that the market was underestimated the size and the potential impact on the mining sector of the inflation of prices.

But more recent constituent of blue-chips, glencore International, 7.4 acquired p 531.1 despite Nomura from the cover of commercial goods giant with a rating of "reduce" and 550 p price target. "Glencore evolves a House of commerce including mining assets served mainly to feed its marketing activities, in a single whose mining assets becomes the pay key engine," said analysts. "Even if we find management of Glencore to be more entrepreneurial team in the sector, we consider the assessment are high relative to peers."

Moreover, GlaxoSmithKline ticked up to 3 p to £ 13,20 despite Goldman Sachs cutting its rating on the drug manufacturer to "sell" from "neutral" on grounds of the assessment. Analysts added that Glaxo is set to face contrary winds on their lung drug Advair in generic should launch in Europe in six to nine months.

Among the second liners, supergroup and Betfair were all both recover from recent weakness in prices share. The streetwear brand rebounded 57 p to £ 11,12 while betting online society went from 63½ to 839 p.

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Europe fears motives of Chinese super-creditor

The exact role of China is unclear. Chinese vice-premier Li Keqiang promised to buy Spanish debt during a visit to Madrid last week, reportedly up to €6bn (£5bn).

China was the secret buyer in a private placement of €1.1bn of Portuguese debt last week, according to the Wall Street Journal. Finance minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos said China "may well have been" a key buyer in this week's debt auction.

China was not the only force at work. Traders say the European Central Bank (ECB) acted aggressively behind the scenes, calling some 20 dealers to buy Portuguese debt in the secondary market.

This created what amounted to a "short-squeeze" in Portuguese bonds just before auction, causing spreads to tighten dramatically and inflicting damage on market makers acting in good faith. City sources say this has caused some bitterness.

Charles Grant, head of the Centre for European Reform and author of a book on EU-China relations, said China's top goal is to secure an end to the EU arms embargo, imposed after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. It rankles as humiliating treatment for a global superpower that has since changed profoundly.

The EU has refused to move on the sanctions until China ratifies the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, and China's arrest of Nobel peace dissident Liu Xiaobo has further complicated matters.

Yet Brussels has suddenly begun to shift gear. Baroness Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, said the embargo is damaging EU-China ties and called for new thinking to "design a way forward".

Mr Grant said Britain, France and Germany are all wary of giving ground, cleaving closely to US policy. Washington views China's growing military might as a strategic threat to the Pacific region. There have already been hot words over the South China Sea, and the Pentagon claims that China has an "operational" ballistic missile able to sink aircraft carriers at long range.

A WikiLeaks cable from the US embassy in Beijing last January cites the EU's mission chief, Alexander McLachlan, saying Spain had tried to curry favour with Chinese leaders, "seeking advantage at other EU states' expense". He said China was fully aware of Madrid's game but was exploiting intra-EU divisions to gain leverage.

China's second goal is to secure market economy status from the EU. This would make it much harder for the EU to impose anti-dumping measures against Chinese imports. As it happens, the EU has just lifted its punitive tariff on Chinese shoes.

Mr Grant said Beijing will not risk much cash to woo Europe. "They are very hard-nosed. They may splash some money around for goodwill but they are not going to waste the hundreds of billions that may be needed. Nothing short of meaningful action by Europe's leaders can genuinely stabilise the eurozone," he said.

China's sovereign wealth funds, including the central bank's exchange fund SAFE, have been severely criticised at home for losing money on US investment banks during the credit crisis, or on dollar losses from US Treasury debt. They will be careful about fresh risks in euroland.

"It is debatable whether China would actually be willing to become buyer of last resort of the debt of a country close to default," said Julian Jessop from Capital Economics. "Chinese officials are acutely aware of past losses and will not want to be seen to risk their peoples' capital on a lost cause. Their actions frequently fall short of expectations raised by their words."

Simon Derrick, from the Bank of New York Mellon, said that China must find somewhere to recycle its fresh reserves or lose control of its own currency. It is already sated with US assets. Holdings are 65pc in dollars, 26pc in euros, 5pc in sterling and 3pc in the yen.

"They may start buying some emerging market bonds but basically the only place they can go is into euros, and buying €6bn of Spanish debt is a good investment if it helps protect their other euro assets," he said.

Mr Derrick said Beijing appears to take the view that the ECB's monetary policy is fundamentally more rigorous than the money-printing ventures of the US Federal Reserve. "The Chinese have made it clear that they don't see any meaningful shift in US policy."

In the global beauty contest, Europe's debt still looks less ugly than the main alternative.

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Oil shock fears as Libya erupts

 US oil contracts jumped more than $7 a barrel on Tuesday morning to over $93. Photo: REUTERS

"This is potentially worse for oil than the Iran crisis in 1979," said Paul Horsnell, head of oil research at Barclays Capital. "That was a revolution in one country, here there are so many countries at once. The world has only 4.5m barrels-per-day (bpd) of spare capacity, which is not comfortable."

US oil contracts jumped more than $9 a barrel in a matter of hours on Tuesday to touch $98, chasing Brent crude at a 30-month high of $109 as the whole global oil system is drawn into the vortex.

While Egypt is a minor oil player, Libya's Sirte Basin holds Africa's largest reserves and supplies 1.4m bpd in exports, mostly to Italy, Germany and Spain.

BP, Statoil, Total and ENI have begun evacuating families and non-essential staff from Libya. BP chief Bob Dudley told Sky News that the company has only limited exploration in Libya but "remains committed to doing business" there.

Germans oil explorer Wintershall said it was winding down its Libyan operations, but Italy's ENI has most to lose from its pipeline to Libya. ENI's stock tumbled 5pc in Milan on Monday, leading a 3.6pc fall in the MIB index.

Global oil inventories are higher than before the 2008 price spike, and OPEC can raise output if needed. It has refused to act so far despite pleas from the International Energy Agency (IEA) that the supply picture is already "alarming".

A Saudi official said global oil ministers meeting tomorrow in Riyadh will examine market "volatility", but dashed hopes of OPEC action, saying world markets are "sufficiently supplied".

Though Libya's oil fields are big enough to influence global supply, producing 2.3pc of world output, investors have broader concerns. The lighting speed of events in a country that was stable just days ago has caused markets to doubt assurances about Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. The Gulf region ships a third of global oil output.

Credit default swaps on Saudi Arabia's debt jumped to 140 basis points on Monday, while Bahrain rose to 305 despite an olive branch from the Sunni royal family to Shi'ite protestors. The island's Grand Prix in March has been cancelled.

Fitch Ratings downgraded Libya on Monday on political risk although the 6m-strong country has foreign assets of $139bn (£85.7bn) or 190pc of GDP, no foreign debt, and a better balance sheet than Saudi Arabia.

Michael Lewis, commodities chief at Deutsche Bank, said oil markets are bracing for trouble. December "call options" with a strike price of $120 on US crude have doubled suddenly, indicating fears of a nasty escalation. "Libya raises the stakes," he said.

Mr Lewis said oil prices tend to cause economic damage at a $95 to $100 for US crude. As a rule of thumb, a sustained $10 rise in price lops 0.5pc off US growth over two years, and worse if it reaches a self-feeding tipping point. "It's like a $50bn tax," he said.

Mr Horsnell said the global energy crunch is haunting us again after a brief respite during the financial crisis. "In just two years, the world has grown so fast as to consume additional volume equal to the output of Iraq and Kuwait combined," he said.

While oil is likely to keep flowing from Mid-East states whatever the political colour of the regimes, it is less clear that global oil companies will continue to explore or invest in regions where nobody knows the rules of the game. "It matters a lot what the investment climate is for long-term fixed capital projects," he said.

The IEA has called for $30 trillion of investment in energy projects over the next 20 years to keep global growth on track and meet explosive demand from China. The task may soon be harder.

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Oil shock fears as Libya erupts

 US oil contracts jumped more than $7 a barrel on Tuesday morning to over $93. Photo: REUTERS

"This is potentially worse for oil than the Iran crisis in 1979," said Paul Horsnell, head of oil research at Barclays Capital. "That was a revolution in one country, here there are so many countries at once. The world has only 4.5m barrels-per-day (bpd) of spare capacity, which is not comfortable."

US oil contracts jumped more than $9 a barrel in a matter of hours on Tuesday to touch $98, chasing Brent crude at a 30-month high of $109 as the whole global oil system is drawn into the vortex.

While Egypt is a minor oil player, Libya's Sirte Basin holds Africa's largest reserves and supplies 1.4m bpd in exports, mostly to Italy, Germany and Spain.

BP, Statoil, Total and ENI have begun evacuating families and non-essential staff from Libya. BP chief Bob Dudley told Sky News that the company has only limited exploration in Libya but "remains committed to doing business" there.

Germans oil explorer Wintershall said it was winding down its Libyan operations, but Italy's ENI has most to lose from its pipeline to Libya. ENI's stock tumbled 5pc in Milan on Monday, leading a 3.6pc fall in the MIB index.

Global oil inventories are higher than before the 2008 price spike, and OPEC can raise output if needed. It has refused to act so far despite pleas from the International Energy Agency (IEA) that the supply picture is already "alarming".

A Saudi official said global oil ministers meeting tomorrow in Riyadh will examine market "volatility", but dashed hopes of OPEC action, saying world markets are "sufficiently supplied".

Though Libya's oil fields are big enough to influence global supply, producing 2.3pc of world output, investors have broader concerns. The lighting speed of events in a country that was stable just days ago has caused markets to doubt assurances about Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. The Gulf region ships a third of global oil output.

Credit default swaps on Saudi Arabia's debt jumped to 140 basis points on Monday, while Bahrain rose to 305 despite an olive branch from the Sunni royal family to Shi'ite protestors. The island's Grand Prix in March has been cancelled.

Fitch Ratings downgraded Libya on Monday on political risk although the 6m-strong country has foreign assets of $139bn (£85.7bn) or 190pc of GDP, no foreign debt, and a better balance sheet than Saudi Arabia.

Michael Lewis, commodities chief at Deutsche Bank, said oil markets are bracing for trouble. December "call options" with a strike price of $120 on US crude have doubled suddenly, indicating fears of a nasty escalation. "Libya raises the stakes," he said.

Mr Lewis said oil prices tend to cause economic damage at a $95 to $100 for US crude. As a rule of thumb, a sustained $10 rise in price lops 0.5pc off US growth over two years, and worse if it reaches a self-feeding tipping point. "It's like a $50bn tax," he said.

Mr Horsnell said the global energy crunch is haunting us again after a brief respite during the financial crisis. "In just two years, the world has grown so fast as to consume additional volume equal to the output of Iraq and Kuwait combined," he said.

While oil is likely to keep flowing from Mid-East states whatever the political colour of the regimes, it is less clear that global oil companies will continue to explore or invest in regions where nobody knows the rules of the game. "It matters a lot what the investment climate is for long-term fixed capital projects," he said.

The IEA has called for $30 trillion of investment in energy projects over the next 20 years to keep global growth on track and meet explosive demand from China. The task may soon be harder.

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U.s. markets down on China rate shock, BoA mortgage fears

Bank of America have slipped 4 4pc after a CNBC report seeking to a consortium of eight investment firms, including PIMCO, BlackRock and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, for to buy packaged loans in $47bn bonds.

"Wall Street is measure in real time of the crisis in mortgages, lenders loan loss" Chad Morganlander, an official money at Stifel, Nicolaus, says Bloomberg. " This additional overhang housing debacle goes to maintain financial stocks at Bay for a long period of time.»

BoA, largest in the country by assets, Bank also posted a quarterly loss United $ 7 due to changes in legislation in debit card transaction fees.

• FTSE 100 report

Blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped from 165.07 points, or 1. 48pc close 10,978.62 points on Tuesday, while the broader S & P 500 index lost 18.81 points, or 1. 59pc 1,165.90 points.

Rich technology Nasdaq composite index shed 43.71 points, or 1 76pc 2,436.95 points, as Apple is 2 7pc on earnings as forecast estimate and IBM dropped 3 4pc due to a decline in new contracts.

"U.s. stocks remain solidly lower technology sector provides the lion's share of the burden on equity markets", analysts of Charles Schwab told AFP.

"Interest rate first hike in China since 2007 is also the cause of a sense of discomfort and materials are some pressure, exacerbated by a strong advance in the U.S. dollar, which is weighing on denominated products."

Losses followed the decision of the Central Bank China to increase interest rates for the first time in nearly three years in efforts to curb inflation and real estate boom.

Bank of China said that it will be Wednesday increase loan Yuan a year to 5 5 31pc 56pc and yuan year drops 2 5pc 2 25pc rates.

Increasing verging on the global currency market and comes in advance of key data this week expected to show growth in the second world economy continued to slow in the third trimestre.Dans NY end trade, the pound sterling was extracted $1.5704 down from $1.5878 Monday.

Advance the dollar hit market commodities such as gold tumbled $31 $1,338 per ounce, wiping out the week gains dernière.Les oil prices fell too with Brent Crude for December delivery 4 10pc sliding to $81.10.

Shortly after the markets closed, Yahoo! said that net income has more than doubled in the third quarter of $396.1 m and revenues have increased 2pc to.$ 6bn.

The search engine giant said it expected revenue making $ 1 to. 53bn $1 in the current quarter.

The bond market has slightly augmenté.Le performance on the obligations of the US Treasury slipped 2 48pc 2 49pc Monday, while on the binding of 30 years of 10 years decreased from 3 3 93pc 90pc.

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Wall Street drops on the nuclear fears at the Japan

At one point in New York late Wednesday, the yen strengthened to 76.53 against the dollar late but weakened to 79.04 at the prospect of action coordinated by the G7 countries to limit the damage to the world's third largest economy.

Markets have been at the Bank of the Japan, to intervene as a yen very poorly exporters of the country, potentially deepening damage already serious Japan by multiple disasters.

"It intensified speculation of the Bank of the Japan markets will soon intervene to limit their support of the yen," said analyst NAB Capital David de Garis.

Kaoru Yosano economy Minister insists the currency nor Japanese stock markets are in a State of unrest to justify the action of the g-7 and Tokyo sought was his "psychological support" peers.

Merchants surveyed how the G7 can do as the current market rout is based in large part by uncertainty on how the nuclear crisis will play.

US officials in Washington warned that the plant in Fukushima Dai-ichi can be on the point of spewing more radioactive, as Japanese military helicopters continued to dump water on a stricken reactor to try to avoid that a complete breakdown. They said the Americans to remain at least 50 kilometres of the plant.

"Foreign investors continued to dump stocks on growing fears about nuclear accidents." Also, investors are worried that the earthquake and the nuclear disaster certainly could dent economic growth, "said Masatoshi Sato, a market analyst at Mizuho investors securities."

Main landmarks across Asia were also lower. Hong Kong Hang Seng index lost 2pc, of Shanghai Composite Index slid 1. 2pc, Australia of the ASX dipped 0. 1pc, and the India Sensex fell 0. 4pc. ABN Korea of southern edged up to 0 1pc.

The Central Bank of the Japan injected cash in on the currency markets of Tokyo for three days in a row, an injection of total liquidity 55.6 billion yen (£ 430bn) since Monday.

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones fell 242.12 points-2. 04pc - close to 11613.3, frightened by the fear of nuclear catastrophe. The biggest fallers were IBM (-3.1 8pc), General Electric (-3.1 3pc) and Boeing (-3pc). Business electric and energy were hard these days that the benefits of the Japanese earhtquake and tsunami continues to disrupt supply and grid lines in the country of power.

The & S P 500 fell by 1. 95pc and the technology-rich Nasdaq Composite slid 1. 89pc.

The U.S. index followed the FTSE 100. Despite the British blue-chips opening day until slightly, they fell 1. FP7 - or 97.05 points - a minimum of three months expenses of 5598.23 on Wednesday. France of lost 2 23pc ACC and Frankfurt's DAX fell 2 01pc.

Angus Campbell, head of sales at Capital spreads, said: "investors have received another scare after the Commissioner of the EU energy today announced that the situation there was achieved out of control." Are the vendors because on the market and at one point, that the future Nikkei fell to three hundred points within ten minutes. »

Markets had been agitated throughout the day of the crisis in the power plant nuclear Fukushima damaged by the earthquake in the Japan has intensified.

Guenther Oettinger, Minister of energy of the European Union, said the European Parliament: "In the next few hours it could be more catastrophic events, which could pose a threat to the life of the inhabitants of the island."

He said the nuclear site is "effectively out of control:"cooling systems have not worked, and as a result, we are somewhere between a disaster and a major disaster.""

Feeling the market was still blocked by the increase in the price of oil following clashes in Bahrain, downgrade of a Moody of the debt of the Portugal and the United States poor economic data showing wholesale pricing pressures greater than expected and the recession in construction to a low near record housing.

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Us unemployment jumps unexpected what prompted fears of 9 8pc recovery

Retail employment decreased from 28,000 in November, including waterfalls in the Department store employees by 9,000 jobs. Photo: REUTERS

Us unemployment is now 9 8pc, more than 9 6pc last month. Employment growth slowed to 39,000 November — far of the 130 000 provided by the experts - after an average increase of 86 000 per month since December 2009.

In London, the FTSE 100 index fell 1pc 5,720 news and the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0 3pc on open 11,331.42 as investors fear for the future of the recovery in the United States. Flight safety or seen jumping over $ 1,400 an ounce on the back of the news.

Economists said the unemployment figures demonstrating the fragility of the recovery in the United States would be considered by the US Federal Reserve as validation of its decision the month last $600bn more in the economy of the pump.

"The labour market is not turning around, and it is the key to the overall recovery" David Semmens, an American economist at Standard Chartered Bank in New York, told Bloomberg. "Anyone who believes that the Fed was perhaps too prematurely is definitely would have to eat their words".

Retail employment decreased from 28,000 in November, including falls in the store used by 9 000 jobs and furnishings furniture and home stores by 5,000.

Health care industry was the big winner in November, with a gain of 19,000 for months, even if it was still lower than the average increase of 21,000 known so far this year.

This year has also seen an increase in apathy among many unemployed, with the number of workers do not look for work because they feel that without a job for them at 1.3 million coming are 861,000 a year earlier.

Drew Matus, a senior economist at UBS, stated: "The United States may have to face the fact that unemployment will be high for an extended period."

"There are people who need to be recycled for new jobs and will take time."

The Organization of cooperation and development (OECD) had warned in September that the long-term unemployment may be a reality for many Americans.

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Oil could hit $220 a barrel on Libya and Algeria fears, warns Nomura

Barclays Capital said 1m b/d of Libyan output is "shut in", with the other 0.6m at risk. While Saudi Arabia can step in by raising output, this takes time and its oil is not a substitute for Libya's "sweet crude".

The escalating crisis set off further falls on global bourses. Wall Street was down 1pc in early trading and the FTSE 100 fell 1.2pc. The Dow has shed more than 300 points over the past three days to 12,075.

Nomura said a shut-down in both Libya and Algeria would cut global supply by 2.9m b/d and reduce OPEC spare capacity to 2.1m b/d, comparable with levels at the onset of the Gulf War and worse than during the 2008 spike, when prices hit $147.

Both price shocks preceeded – or triggered – a recession in Europe and the US. Fatih Birol, chief economist for the International Energy Agency, said the latest price rise had already become a "serious risk" for the fragile economies of the OECD bloc.

Some analysts fear the underlying picture is worse that officially recognised, doubting Saudi claims of ample spare capacity. A Wikileaks cable cited comments by a geologist for the Saudi oil giant Aramco that the kingdom's reserves had been overstated by 40pc. A second cable cited US diplomats asking whether the Saudis "any longer have the power to drive prices down for a prolonged period".

Nomura's report, which does not examine the catastrophic scenario of a full-blown Gulf crisis, said past oil shocks have shown a three-stage pattern, with a final blow-off in prices in the final phase. The current crisis is at stage one.

Surging oil prices create a nasty dilemma for central banks since they are inflationary if caused by robust global growth, but deflationary if caused by a supply crunch that acts as a tax on consuming nations. The big oil exporters tend to save extra revenues from price spikes at first, so the initial effect is to drain global demand.

The current picture contains elements of both, with an added twist of liquidity created by the US Federal Reserve that is leaking into the global system and playing havoc with commodity pricing.

US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said on Wednesday that the world economy is stong enough to "handle" the oil shock, insisting that central banks "have a lot of experience in managing these things".

The European Central Bank (ECB) responded to the oil spike in July 2008 by raising rates even though Germany and Italy were in recession by then. Nout Wellink, the ECB's Dutch governor, said this had been a policy error.

Circumstances are different this time yet also murky. ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet signalled last month that the bank will "look through" the short-term price hump, but ECB rhetoric has since turned more hawkish. Fed doves will undoubtedly give more weight to the deflationary risks.

Jeremy Leggett, a leader of the UK industry task force on peak oil and energy security, said the Mid-East crisis "shows the extreme fragility of the global system. People don't realise how close we are to a potential precipice if this unrest reaches critical mass in enough OPEC countries. Governments need to draw up emergency plans and get cracking on proactive measures while we still have time," he said.

Charles Robertson at Renaissance Capital said the real concern nagging investors is what will happen in Saudi Arabia's oil-rich Eastern Province, the home of the kingdom's restless Shi'ite minority. The Saudis produce 11.6pc of world output, but a much higher share of exports.

"There is potential for serious tension, and not just among the Shia. High unemployment and the youth bulge means unrest could be country-wide. If Saudi Arabia or Iran are engulfed, we have a serious problem."

On Wednesday Saudi King Abdullah unveiled $11bn of welfare projects for his people.

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Mid-East contagion fears for Saudi oil fields

 Saudi Arabia's main oil pipeline. 'The Shia are 10pc of the Saudi population. They are deeply aggrieved and marginalised, and sit on top of the kingdom's oil reserves' Photo: GETTY

"Yemen, Sudan, Jordan and Syria all look vulnerable. However, the greatest risk in terms of both probability and severity is in Saudi Arabia," said a report by risk consultants Exclusive Analysis.

While markets have focused on possible disruption to the Suez Canal, conduit for 8pc of global shipping, it is unlikely that Egyptian leaders of any stripe would cut off an income stream worth $5bn (£3.1bn) a year to the Egyptian state.

"I don't think the Egyptians will ever dare to touch it," said Opec chief Abdalla El-Badri, adding that the separate Suez oil pipeline is "very well protected". The canal was blockaded after the Six Days War in 1967.

There has been less focus on the risk of instability spreading to Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, headquarters of the Saudi oil giant Aramco. The region boasts the vast Safaniya, Shaybah and Ghawar oilfields. "This is potentially far more dangerous," said Faysal Itani, Mid-East strategist at Exclusive.

"The Shia are 10pc of the Saudi population. They are deeply aggrieved and marginalised, and sit on top of the kingdom's oil reserves. There have been frequent confrontations and street fights with the security forces that are very rarely reported in the media," he said.

The Saudi Shia last rose up in mass civil disobedience in the "Intifada" of 1979, inspired by the Khomeini revolution in Iran. Clashes led to 21 deaths. Mr Itani said it is unclear whether the Saudi military could cope with a serious outbreak of protest in the province.

Saudi King Abdullah is clearly alarmed by fast-moving events in Egypt and the Arab world. In a statement published by the Saudi press agency he said agitators had "infiltrated Egypt to destabilise its security and incite malicious sedition".

The accusations seem aimed at Iran's Shia regime, which has openly endorsed the "rightful demands" of the protest movement. There is deep concern in Sunni Arab countries that Iran is attempting to create a "Shia Crescent" through Iraq, Bahrain and into the Gulf areas of Saudi Arabia, hoping to become the hegemonic force in global oil supply.

Goldman Sachs said the Mid-East holds 61pc of the world's proven oil reserves – and 36pc of current supply – which may compel global leaders to make "concentrated efforts" to stabilise the region. The bank said high levels of affluence should shield Saudi Arabia and the Gulf's oil-rich states from "political contagion".

However, a third of Saudi Arabia's 25m residents are ill-assimilated foreigners and the country faces a "youth bulge", with unemployment at 42pc among those aged 20 to 24.

Nima Khorrami Assl, a Gulf expert at the Transnational Crisis Project, said Shi'ites have been "stigmatised as a result of excessive paranoia since Iran's Islamic Revolution" and face systemic barriers in education and jobs. "Should the Gulf states do nothing or attempt to preserve the status quo, social unrest becomes inevitable. The current situation is inherently unstable," he told Foreign Policy Journal.

Exclusive Analysis said Egypt's revolt had gone beyond the point of no return as protesters plan a 1m stong rally on Tuesday, with president Hosni Mubarak likely to be ousted within 30 days.

John Cochrane, the group's global risk strategist, said the regime has so far refrained from ordering the army to crush protesters knowing that many officers will refuse to obey. "If asked to use lethal force, it is questionable whether the army's cohesion will hold together," he said.

The Muslim Brotherhood, the best-organised of the diffuse protest movement, has reached out to the military, praising its "long and honourable history", but it has also begun to set up its own populist militias to protect the streets.

A future government – with the Brotherhood pulling some strings – is expected to renationalise parts of industry, shifting away from "free-market" policies used to weaken the labour unions and steer contracts to an incestuous elite. Ezz Steel and other parts of the business empire of Ahmed Ezz may be seized, as well as infrastructure assets linked to corrupt ministers.

The Brotherhood's "old guard" has so far controlled its hotheads but the organisation is close to Hamas in Gaza. Israel may soon find that it can no longer count on a secure southern border, even if Egypt's peace treaty remains in name.

The outbreak of Arab populism vindicates claims by US neo-conservatives that the region is ripe for change, but this is not what Washington had in mind. "US interests are the first casualty," said Mr Itani.

Fairly or unfairly, America is tarred with the Mubarak brush. Cairo may switch allegiance to the rising powers of Turkey, India, and above all, China.

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Oil shock fears as Libya erupts

"This is potentially worse for oil than the Iran crisis in 1979," said Paul Horsnell, head of oil research at Barclays Capital. "That was a revolution in one country, here there are so many countries at once. The world has only 4.5m barrels-per-day (bpd) of spare capacity, which is not comfortable."

US oil contracts jumped $6 a barrel on Monday to over $95, chasing Brent crude, which traded as high as $108, as the global oil system is drawn into the vortex. While Egypt is a minor oil player, Libya's Sirte Basin holds Africa's largest reserves and supplies 1.4m bpd in exports, mostly to Italy, Germany and Spain.

BP, Statoil, Total and ENI have begun evacuating families and non-essential staff from Libya. BP chief Bob Dudley told Sky News that the company has only limited exploration in Libya but "remains committed to doing business" there.

Germans oil explorer Wintershall said it was winding down its Libyan operations, but Italy's ENI has most to lose from its pipeline to Libya. ENI's stock tumbled 5pc in Milan, leading a 3.6pc fall in the MIB index.

Global oil inventories are higher than before the 2008 price spike, and OPEC can raise output if needed. It has refused to act so far despite pleas from the International Energy Agency (IEA) that the supply picture is already "alarming".

A Saudi official said global oil ministers meeting tomorrow in Riyadh will examine market "volatility", but dashed hopes of OPEC action, saying world markets are "sufficiently supplied".

Though Libya's oil fields are big enough to influence global supply, producing 2.3pc of world output, investors have broader concerns. The lighting speed of events in a country that was stable just days ago has caused markets to doubt assurances about Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. The Gulf region ships a third of global oil output.

Credit default swaps on Saudi Arabia's debt jumped to 140 basis points on Monday, while Bahrain rose to 305 despite an olive branch from the Sunni royal family to Shi'ite protestors. The island's Grand Prix in March has been cancelled.

Fitch Ratings downgraded Libya on Monday on political risk although the 6m-strong country has foreign assets of $139bn (£85.7bn) or 190pc of GDP, no foreign debt, and a better balance sheet than Saudi Arabia.

Michael Lewis, commodities chief at Deutsche Bank, said oil markets are bracing for trouble. December "call options" with a strike price of $120 on US crude have doubled suddenly, indicating fears of a nasty escalation. "Libya raises the stakes," he said.

Mr Lewis said oil prices tend to cause economic damage at a $95 to $100 for US crude. As a rule of thumb, a sustained $10 rise in price lops 0.5pc off US growth over two years, and worse if it reaches a self-feeding tipping point. "It's like a $50bn tax," he said.

Mr Horsnell said the global energy crunch is haunting us again after a brief respite during the financial crisis. "In just two years, the world has grown so fast as to consume additional volume equal to the output of Iraq and Kuwait combined," he said.

While oil is likely to keep flowing from Mid-East states whatever the political colour of the regimes, it is less clear that global oil companies will continue to explore or invest in regions where nobody knows the rules of the game. "It matters a lot what the investment climate is for long-term fixed capital projects," he said.

The IEA has called for $30 trillion of investment in energy projects over the next 20 years to keep global growth on track and meet explosive demand from China. The task may soon be harder.

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Oil could hit $220 a barrel on Libya and Algeria fears, warns Nomura

Barclays Capital said 1m b/d of Libyan output is "shut in", with the other 0.6m at risk. While Saudi Arabia can step in by raising output, this takes time and its oil is not a substitute for Libya's "sweet crude".

The escalating crisis set off further falls on global bourses. Wall Street was down 1pc in early trading and the FTSE 100 fell 1.2pc. The Dow has shed more than 300 points over the past three days to 12,075.

Nomura said a shut-down in both Libya and Algeria would cut global supply by 2.9m b/d and reduce OPEC spare capacity to 2.1m b/d, comparable with levels at the onset of the Gulf War and worse than during the 2008 spike, when prices hit $147.

Both price shocks preceeded – or triggered – a recession in Europe and the US. Fatih Birol, chief economist for the International Energy Agency, said the latest price rise had already become a "serious risk" for the fragile economies of the OECD bloc.

Some analysts fear the underlying picture is worse that officially recognised, doubting Saudi claims of ample spare capacity. A Wikileaks cable cited comments by a geologist for the Saudi oil giant Aramco that the kingdom's reserves had been overstated by 40pc. A second cable cited US diplomats asking whether the Saudis "any longer have the power to drive prices down for a prolonged period".

Nomura's report, which does not examine the catastrophic scenario of a full-blown Gulf crisis, said past oil shocks have shown a three-stage pattern, with a final blow-off in prices in the final phase. The current crisis is at stage one.

Surging oil prices create a nasty dilemma for central banks since they are inflationary if caused by robust global growth, but deflationary if caused by a supply crunch that acts as a tax on consuming nations. The big oil exporters tend to save extra revenues from price spikes at first, so the initial effect is to drain global demand.

The current picture contains elements of both, with an added twist of liquidity created by the US Federal Reserve that is leaking into the global system and playing havoc with commodity pricing.

US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said on Wednesday that the world economy is stong enough to "handle" the oil shock, insisting that central banks "have a lot of experience in managing these things".

The European Central Bank (ECB) responded to the oil spike in July 2008 by raising rates even though Germany and Italy were in recession by then. Nout Wellink, the ECB's Dutch governor, said this had been a policy error.

Circumstances are different this time yet also murky. ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet signalled last month that the bank will "look through" the short-term price hump, but ECB rhetoric has since turned more hawkish. Fed doves will undoubtedly give more weight to the deflationary risks.

Jeremy Leggett, a leader of the UK industry task force on peak oil and energy security, said the Mid-East crisis "shows the extreme fragility of the global system. People don't realise how close we are to a potential precipice if this unrest reaches critical mass in enough OPEC countries. Governments need to draw up emergency plans and get cracking on proactive measures while we still have time," he said.

Charles Robertson at Renaissance Capital said the real concern nagging investors is what will happen in Saudi Arabia's oil-rich Eastern Province, the home of the kingdom's restless Shi'ite minority. The Saudis produce 11.6pc of world output, but a much higher share of exports.

"There is potential for serious tension, and not just among the Shia. High unemployment and the youth bulge means unrest could be country-wide. If Saudi Arabia or Iran are engulfed, we have a serious problem."

On Wednesday Saudi King Abdullah unveiled $11bn of welfare projects for his people.

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