As Mubarak finally cedes the Egyptian presidential office, the rest of the world is taking the opportunity to celebrate civilizations based on rule of law. This feeling of stability is good for finance; all three of America’s major stock watchers saw modest gains in investment.
Swiss banks froze Mubarak’s accounts to avoid the possibility of the former president abusing — or hiding — state property. According to CNN Money, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs has frozen all funds belonging to Mubarak and “his circles” in order “to avoid any risk of embezzlement of Egyptian state property.”
Meanwhile Americans are addressing the flaws in our First World rule of law. Today the House Appropriations Committee is actually trying to balance the nation’s checkbook, calling for a $100 billion spending cut in Obama’s proposed 2011 budget.
All of this stability has buoyed stock markets. The Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 have all seen gains. American investment dipped Jan 25 when the turmoil in Egypt began.
Egypt’s own market has yet to recover. Yesterday Mubarak announced that he would stay in office through the summer, after claiming last week that he was necessary as a “figurehead” in Egypt. Today Mubarak left control of the country to the Egyptian military while the country awaits a new leader.
