Asia's economic suffering continues

Now that bombs are falling on Baghdad, some global markets are showing signs of relief that the uncertainty of when the war would start is over. But in Asia, the economic doubts are just beginning. The surge in share prices in the biggest economies fits with many investors' views that the threat of war in Iraq may have unsettled markets more than the conflict itself. Yet Asia's markets fear the war could be messier than hoped and may destabilise some of the region's shakier governments. Some of them, incidentally, also have the region's largest Muslim populations. The concerns give thos...