Israel Matzav

'Divine punishment'?

Hamas' clerics believe that they have direct access to God and that the current turmoil in the world's financial markets is 'divine punishment' for America's treatment of Muslims.

America's opponents in the Middle East are gloating at the financial meltdown in the United States, describing it as the divinely inspired collapse of an overstretched empire.

Hardline clerics across the region as well as representatives of U.S. opponents like Hamas and al-Qaida have described the plummeting stocks and frozen credit markets in the United States as a kind of retribution for American misdeeds.

"We are witnessing the collapse of the American Empire," Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister in the Gaza Strip, told worshippers during Friday prayers. "What's going on in America is a result of the violation of the rights of people in Palestine, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Muslims around the world."

Haniyeh's comments followed those made by other regional leaders who have long had an antagonistic relationship with the U.S. and appear to be enjoying the country's troubles.

Their claim would be a lot more believable were it not for the fact that Arab stock markets lost some $158 billion in September:

Arab stock markets crashed by more than $158 billion (Dh580bn) in September, their largest collective monthly loss since they began share dealing some decades ago, according to dealers and official figures.

GCCGCCLoading... bourses emerged as the main victim of the decline as they collapsed by $153bn, nearly 96 per cent of the total capital loss, showed the figures by the Arab Stocks Data Base at the Arab Monetary Fund in Abu Dhabi.

Saudi Arabia plummeted by nearly $82bn to account for over half the decline. From around $1.2 trillion at the end of August, the market capitalisation of the Arab bourses dipped to one of their lowest levels in nearly a year to reach $1.1trn on September 30, a loss of around $158.14bn and a daily average fall of about $5.2bn.

"It was a record collective monthly loss in the regional stock markets," said Hammam Shamma, a share dealing adviser at the Abu Dhabi-based Al Fajr Securities.

Experts said the decline extended three summer months of sharp falls and fluctuations in the region's bourses, mainly in the GCCGCCLoading..., which has the largest stocks exchanges and accounts for 80 per cent of the total Arab market capitalisation.

"The sharp decline in regional markets after Lehman's collapse was not a direct fallout of the crisis but an impending backlash by foreign investors such as collective panic sell-offs," Shamma said.

So much for Haniyeh's prophetic powers.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:42 PM