The sights and sounds eminating from the Middle East over the past two weeks have reverberated around the world. For better or worse, and perhaps ironically in spite of America rather than due to it, it looks like Egypt is headed for democracy. Whether to get there ultimately requires a revolution akin to some of the more peaceful ones of recent years or if it will share means, if not idealogy, with some of the decidedly more violent vintages of the past has yet to be decided. All of this turmoil and confusion stems from a very strong desire for, among other things, the voice of the people to be heard, something that hasn't apparently happened enough under the current regime.
However, despite all of the uncertainty and amid the speculation at least one category of interested individuals has, with certainty, been able to voice its collective vote on the continued turmoil; investors. Or, perhaps in this case there is a more appropriate body part we can use to carry the metaphor than the vocal chords; according to Bloomberg, voting with the feet (much better) has resulted in over $7 billion of funds being removed from emerging markets over the past week as fears that turbulence in Egypt will spill over to African and Middle Eastern neighbors and worries that one of the root causes of the turmoil, food shortages, are not merely a problem in Cairo. The Journal has additional details here.
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