Egypt

The standoff in Egypt and uncertainty about where it will lead is causing global economic jitters. It's already pushing up the price of oil and food, and there's no telling how long the turmoil will last. The big worry is that popular uprisings and revolution will spread to Egypt's rich autocratic neighbors who control much of the world's oil supply. How far will anti-government movements go? Will oil supplies be disrupted? Will the U.S. see its influence in the region decline and that of Iran and other fundamental Islamic regimes surge? Right now, these are open questions. But there's no question that the crisis has created new risks for still shaky world economies and put a cloud over world financial markets.
- TOM RAUM