LONDON (AP) — Stock markets around the world were seeing out 2011 fairly positively Friday, but many are still posting big declines for the year in the wake of Europe’s debt crisis, a faltering U.S. economy and signs that China’s economy is no longer sizzling.
Markets have also been rocked by natural disasters, trading scandals, sharp fluctuations in commodity prices, and the up-and-down price of oil amid the political turmoil in the Arab world.
In Europe, the trading backdrop has been particularly grim, with many of the main markets posting their worst year since 2008. That’s perhaps unsurprising given that most of the financial world’s attention has centered on the debt crisis, which has already
Read More from the Article Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/rss/story/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/news/topfinstories/*http%3A//finance.yahoo.com/news/markets-europe-asia-end-2011-115952151.html?l=1
