30 Aug 2013
The 1,001+ Syrian deaths that make the world shiver
FXstreet.com (Chicago) – Worldwide markets remain highly volatile on possible military intervention in Syria after the death of over 1,300 civilians last week and the possible violation of the Geneva Convention of 1925.
Cameron loses symbolic vote
Yesterday, Prime Minister David Cameron said he had to respect the defeat at the House of Commons after 285 members voted against military intervention in Syria against 272 in favor and stated “the government will have to act accordingly”. While the UN works on inspecting Syrian territory to find out whether or not there are chemical weapons in the country, the US stays firm on allegations implying the existence of proofs involving President Bashar Al- Assad on civilian attack last week.
Decision on hold despite “high confidence” assessment
The US Secretary of State John Kerry stated the US does not intend to repeat what happened in Iraq 10 years ago. Nonetheless, he assured the government “assess with high confidence” that chemical weapons and attacks came from the government and added proofs are available to demonstrate such statements.
Red August, world panicking?
In Europe, the UK FTSE 100 closed down 1.1% while the German DAX lost 1%. In France, the CAC40 was down 1.1% similarly to the Spanish IBEX down 1.5%. In Italy, the MIB was down 1.1%. In Asia, the Nikkei closed down 0.53% while the Hang Seng pulled off gains at 0.12% matching the Shanghai Composite registering gains at 0.06%.
In Wall Street, August seems to be the worst performing month since May 2012 bolstered by Fed’s tapering concerns and war uncertainty. At the moment, the Dow is down 0.16%, the Nasdaq loses 0.74% and the S&P500 prints 0.23% losses.
Syrian crisis recap
Syria is located in the Middle East along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. The country is rather small with only 22 million inhabitants but has a long historical and cultural heritage that goes back for thousands of years. For over 2 years, a civil war has affected Syria causing over 100,000 deaths and sparking extreme violence. The causes and explanations for the conflict differ as the situation is very complex. Russia is the country’s most important ally which has to be taken into consideration as the Security Council has Russia as a permanent voting member (France, UK, US and China are the other permanent members).
What will happen?
At this point, the US seems to be determined to interfere in Syria although the UN has not confirmed the use of chemical weapons (Ban Ki Moon should provide clearer insights over the weekend) and Obama’s administration has not provided a definitive statement. While Russia and China may oppose intervention, France seems to back up the US contrary to the UK. Iran is another Middle Eastern ally that could back up Syria which is worrisome for many affirming the country has nuclear weapons.
Cameron loses symbolic vote
Yesterday, Prime Minister David Cameron said he had to respect the defeat at the House of Commons after 285 members voted against military intervention in Syria against 272 in favor and stated “the government will have to act accordingly”. While the UN works on inspecting Syrian territory to find out whether or not there are chemical weapons in the country, the US stays firm on allegations implying the existence of proofs involving President Bashar Al- Assad on civilian attack last week.
Decision on hold despite “high confidence” assessment
The US Secretary of State John Kerry stated the US does not intend to repeat what happened in Iraq 10 years ago. Nonetheless, he assured the government “assess with high confidence” that chemical weapons and attacks came from the government and added proofs are available to demonstrate such statements.
Red August, world panicking?
In Europe, the UK FTSE 100 closed down 1.1% while the German DAX lost 1%. In France, the CAC40 was down 1.1% similarly to the Spanish IBEX down 1.5%. In Italy, the MIB was down 1.1%. In Asia, the Nikkei closed down 0.53% while the Hang Seng pulled off gains at 0.12% matching the Shanghai Composite registering gains at 0.06%.
In Wall Street, August seems to be the worst performing month since May 2012 bolstered by Fed’s tapering concerns and war uncertainty. At the moment, the Dow is down 0.16%, the Nasdaq loses 0.74% and the S&P500 prints 0.23% losses.
Syrian crisis recap
Syria is located in the Middle East along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. The country is rather small with only 22 million inhabitants but has a long historical and cultural heritage that goes back for thousands of years. For over 2 years, a civil war has affected Syria causing over 100,000 deaths and sparking extreme violence. The causes and explanations for the conflict differ as the situation is very complex. Russia is the country’s most important ally which has to be taken into consideration as the Security Council has Russia as a permanent voting member (France, UK, US and China are the other permanent members).
What will happen?
At this point, the US seems to be determined to interfere in Syria although the UN has not confirmed the use of chemical weapons (Ban Ki Moon should provide clearer insights over the weekend) and Obama’s administration has not provided a definitive statement. While Russia and China may oppose intervention, France seems to back up the US contrary to the UK. Iran is another Middle Eastern ally that could back up Syria which is worrisome for many affirming the country has nuclear weapons.