
Markets around the world are in a tailspin. The perfect storm of a U.S. interest rate hike, a Chinese slowdown and plummeting crude oil prices means the outlook for the world economy is dismal. If investor fears continue to grow, the global economy will sustain significant damage. The Nikkei Asian Review analyzes the impact of the turmoil on the economies of the region.
HONG KONG -- Global financial markets got off to a rocky start in 2016. Last year's U.S. interest rate increase, the first in nine years, was supposed to have finally overcome the trauma of the 2008 financial crisis. But by Jan. 21, when market jitters were high, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had lost 8.8% since the start of the year. Copper three-month futures, considered a leading indicator of the world economy, had fallen 5.8%.