Tuesday Morning Surprise

Markets are putting investors in unfamiliar territory this morning, an actual down open of note.  The market has been so teflon coated it feels foreign.  Aside from the Friday morning when the Egyptian riots actually affected the psyche this appears to be only the 2nd serious selling pressure day of the year...

Obviously the events in Libya weigh as the country carries 2% of the world's oil production.  Unlike Egypt the head honcho is not a U.S. ally and at least in this moment is acting far more brutal towards his people so the questions are a bit broader.

Taking away the truly horrid things happening on the ground, the larger issue is uncertainty and if this regional unrest gets to larger oil producing countries (larger in terms of production).  Most have a different leadership situation and have been acting ahead of the curve... for example immediate raises for workers, and in Kuwait's case for example paying for a year's supplies of food for its citizens.  These countries obviously have the means to do so, due to oil.

So the next question is how soon does the dip get bought? will buyers show up within milliseconds? The POMO operation? Or heck, not until tomorrow?  Because after all..markets cant go down anymore....

Oil. Rice. Remember these are the 2 key levers to watch in the world economy.