OIL TURMOIL

After a bit of a settled period, the price of oil leapt on the news of the turmoil in Iraq.

Brent Crude shot up over the $113 mark. The runes are ominous - when the Middle East is in chaos the prospect for world energy is always bleak.

The human cost of the conflicts in the region is also calamitous.

Who knows how the latest crisis will pan out - the only sure thing is that instability leads to market jitters.