European markets rebound a bit

US Treasury Secretary welcomed today’s news, �it shows to this country as well as the rest of the world that our central bank is nimble and is able to move quickly to respond to market conditions and I think that should be a confidence builder.� The move had an immediate impact on European stock markets. They reversed course after falling as much as 4%. The Fed’s announcement came too late for Asia though. China’s Shanghai market fell by around 7% and India fell by almost 5%. Until now both markets had been among the best performing in the world. Millions of small Indian investors like these had put their money in shares convinced that the stock market would only go up: �The small investors had really been hit badly and they never expected this kind of a small to take place in this short of a time.� �It’s making our people on second thought, they’re thinking again that they should go back to the stock market or not.� India’s Finance Minister tried to instill calm today by saying his country doesn’t face the same problems as the developed world. But this analyst with the firm Global Insight says that’s bunk, �Everyone’s looking at the US economy which is still the largest economy in the world at 25% of the global economy and so it is lynchpin.� In recent months a theory called decoupling has become fashionable. The theory argues that what happens in the United States doesn’t impact markets in other parts of the world anymore. The Global Insight analyst, �We live in a much more interdependent world and this decoupling idea has really been debunked I think.� But this Harvard professor doesn’t blame only the United States. He says world markets are experiencing something of a perfect storm and investors everywhere are to blame, �There were a lot of risks out there and at least one of them had to materialize and as it is most of them materialized. The idea that we were going to get through this period without any of those things happening was kind of short sighted.� Still whenever some investors lose money others see a chance to make some. This man is with the US bank Wacovia, �I think that when you have significant moves in the market like this, the opportunity actually go in and make some attractive investments if you have a medium to longer term focus is definitely there and that has been our message to investors.� That’s certainly what the Bush administration would like all investors to think as well. President Bush and top lawmakers are seeking a quick agreement on a plan to pump $150 million dollars in tax cuts and government spending into the ailing economy. They hope to head off a recession.