Thursday, March 17, 2011

BRITISH SHARES COLLAPSE IN WAKE OF THE DISASTER

A MASSIVE £20billion was wiped off the value of UK shares yesterday because of the Japanese disaster, hitting pension holders and ­savers.

The FTSE 100-share index crashed more than 150 points (three per cent) in early trading. It rallied but finished down 80 points.

It came a day after a fall of 53 points, worth about £10billion.

Traders admitted panic had spread to London and across the world amid Japan’s growing nuclear ­crisis. David Jones, chief market strategist of spread-betting firm IG Index, said: “After another explosion at the ­Fukushima nuclear plant increased radiation worries, and triggered a steep sell-off again in Asian markets, investors in the UK have caved in. All but one of the FTSE 100 constituents was in the red, following concerns the ­disaster could have a bigger-than-expected impact on the global recovery.”

Japan’s quake and tsunami may be the costliest natural disaster in history, with a repair bill of £100billion. Hurricane Katrina cost £77billion, the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in Indonesia £9.5billion and last month’s New Zealand quake an estimated £7.5billion.


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