Egypt in Freefall

Here comes the collapse:

Egypt’s economy was sputtering even before a government crackdown on protesters killed more than 500 people. Now, it’s come to a screeching halt.

The country’s stock market and banks are closed today, and yields on government bonds have spiked. Foreign investors are rushing for the exits, though many can’t get out because Egypt’s currency can’t readily be converted into dollars. Growth, earlier forecast to reach 1.2 percent this year, “is in freefall,” and unemployment could rise to 15 percent from its current 13 percent by yearend, predicts Ishaq Siddiqi, a market strategist at ETX Capital in London.

A military government shooting up civilians is never a good thing, although I find it hard (impossible) to weep for dead jihadis and their hangers-on. But the economic consequences of this crackdown will mean destitution for a lot of apolitical, areligious folks just trying to get by.