“GLOOM”, “turbulence”, “volatility.” A small sample of the adjectives festooning the business pages as America, and indeed the world, reaches what is being called “the end of the era of easy money.” Result: a worldwide “flight to safety,” as investors end their wild speculation in commodities and in the stock markets of places they probably can’t find on the map. But as heavyweight champion Joe Louis once said when told his next opponent was fleet of foot, “He can run, but he can’t hide.” A knockout followed.

Investors can indeed run from places and commodities they deem unbearably risky, but there seems to be no place to hide. True, U.S. share prices have done relatively well, and have provided something of a safe haven for nervous money, but only when compared with those of markets in developing countries. That’s because, as the gang members in West Side Story informed the local policeman, “We’ve got troubles of our own.”