Middle East Crisis Diverts Investors from Domestic Concerns

For the first time in almost a year, investors said International Problems, and not domestic concerns such as the Economy, Political Environment, or Unemployment, was the news story they were most closely watching. Specifically, it is the uprising in Egypt that toppled the near 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak that has most gripped Millionaire (32%) and Affluent (29%) investors.
Over the past three years, events abroad have been mostly under the radar of investors who Spectrem Group has polled about the news stories that most affect their economic outlook.  Last May, Greece’s financial crisis captured the most attention of investors (25%).  One has to go back to May 2008 when gas and oil prices spiked to find an international story that topped this survey of investors’ concerns.
Back on the home front, the news stories that usually dominate this survey took a back seat to the unfolding dramas in the Middle East. Nine percent of investors, down from nearly 50% last November, said the Political Environment was the most pressing news story from an economic standpoint. Unemployment (8%), Health Care Reform (7%), the Economy (6%) and Stock Market Conditions (5%) followed. 
Between opposition protests flaring up across the Middle East and mixed signals about the American economy, even the most casual news watchers should find much to compel their interest in the coming months.