World Issues

This could be big. From Bloomberg:

The pound and the euro fell against the dollar after the Telegraph newspaper said Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s are reviewing the U.K.’s AAA credit rating on concern about the nation’s rising debt burden.

I have no idea how this will play out but this could dominate the world markets. S&P futures have dropped 6 points once this came out. Japan is down (not sure if it is because of this). The EURO is also down.

This will either kind of taper out or it could really pick up steam. Either way, it is another warning shot across the bow as Europe starts to slowly unravel. At some point it is likely to snap.

Another issue to glance at occassionaly is the Taliban push for Islamabad. This is not getting alot of press in the U.S. but it is overseas. I have been following it for a couple of weeks and it is to much to catch everyone up on now but if Taliban could overrun Islamabad, it could really throw the region in disaray which would have huge implications for India and Iran. From Al Jazeera:

Pakistan has deployed paramilitary troops to northwestern districts infiltrated by the local Taliban, after US officials expressed concern over the developments.

The move on Thursday coincided with reports that Taliban fighters were patrolling the streets of Buner, a district about 100km outside the capital, Islamabad.

and

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, earlier said the Taliban advances posed an "existential threat" to the survival of Pakistan.

"I think the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and the extremists," she told congress members in a hearing in Washington on Wednesday.