Stock markets around the world were motoring along nicely in June and for the first few days of July - indeed, week 27 saw the Dow break through the 17,000-point mark for the first time in its history. Things were also looking good in the construction sector up to that point. The CET Index for the whole industry was steady just below 210 points - its best since late 2007. However, week 28, the second week of July, saw the markets take a turn for the worse, as concerns were raised over the liquidity and governance of Banco Espirito Santo, a large Portuguese bank. Concerns about a collapse, of course, brought back bad memories of 2008, and the markets slumped as a result.
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