Milo informed him solemnly. “A strong Egyptian-cotton speculating industry means a much stronger America.”…
“You see?” said Yossarian. “You’re much better at it than I am. You almost make it sound true.”
– Joseph Heller, Catch-22
The price of Egyptian cotton, now at its highest level since post-Civil War Reconstruction, is causing concern on Wall Street.
Despite the fact that Egypt doesn’t produce much oil, the price of crude oil has now reached $103 a barrel, and Egypt’s protesters are being blamed.
“Economic interests have been exposed to real danger,” Al Desouky said.
If there is one thing that we can be certain of, as far as the financial markets are concerned it’s never a good time for people to demand basic human rights and dignity. Financial markets tend to applaud military coups, and frown on popular democracy.
The trick is recognizing that the financial markets only represent a very small, elite, section of society.