Memories of the day when the blue-chip stock index was undone by panic to trigger a record Dow Jones Industrial Average plunge of 508 points, equal to a 22.6% drop, stands as a stark reminder that no market is crash-proof.

The title of novelist Edna O’Brien’s 1965 book, August Is A Wicked Month, may carry more than a little relevance for nervous investors around the world this year.

THE further loss of competitiveness by this economy delivered in a new international survey is a further reminder we have problems beyond bankrupt banks and national finances that are close to being out of control.

AGRICULTURE has attracted commodity investors after the volcanic eruption in Iceland.

JIM Rogers, who was in Dublin this week, left the media and the business people he addressed in no doubt about how he saw the future of the United States.