By Michael Snyder: Did
you see what just happened in Japan? The stock market of the 3rd
largest economy on the planet is imploding. On Tuesday, the Nikkei fell
by more than 610 points. If that sounds like a lot, that is because it is. The largest one day stock market decline in U.S. history is only 777 points. So far, the Dow is only down about 1000 points during this "correction", but the Nikkei is down more than 2,300 points. The Nikkei has dropped more than 14 percent since the peak of the market, and many analysts believe that this is only just the beginning.
Those that have been waiting for a full-blown stock market collapse may
be about to get their wish. Japan is absolutely drowning in debt,
their central bank is printing money like crazy and the Japanese
population is aging rapidly. As far as economic fundamentals go, there
is very little good news as far as Japan is concerned. So will an Asian
financial collapse precede the next great financial crisis in the
United States? That is what some have been predicting, and it starting
to look increasingly likely.
What happened to the Nikkei early on Tuesday was absolutely breathtaking. The following is how Bloomberg described the carnage...