ABSTRACT
It’s been an emotional day; people have been glued to the news networks, and no wonder! The geopolitical situation across the globe seems to be completely unstable, as far back as the fall of the Berlin wall and its impact on the relative strength of Russia as a world power to the reforms in China and the effect this has had in opening up of the world economy. It seems that there are bright lights on the horizon for improved standards of living for the world’s people and that there is recognition that the continued growth and advancement of the planet will be furthered by having a healthy global economy that can feed and clothe the people. And yet each time we take a step forward, there is the constant threat of a step back: an oil tanker has a massive spill polluting the ocean, a train derails and explodes savaging an entire community, insurgents destabilize and terrorize entire countries, other countries militarize and threaten the whole world, famine and disease ravage continents, which, coupled with the inadequate distribution of humanitarian aid, cause misery and death to millions. Once stable conditions in the stock market like $100 for a barrel of oil change almost overnight to $50 and below, it’s feast or famine in the global community and it is mirrored in the global financial markets. There is little stability in the world.
