Take a closer look at a boring week in the life of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Last week saw four days of ever deeper dives: up by 0.7% one day, followed by three days of drops, each taking prices down 2-3% at a go. Then, on the fifth, eureka, a roaring 3% rally. Such moves would once have astounded; these days, they are unremarkable. In Europe, share indices have been diving even deeper, and soaring higher, than in America. Germany's DAX, to pick just one example, last week rose by 7.8% in a single day. Low prices may be concealing a bigger change: Mr Market's mood swings have become more violent. With good reason, since punters these days have more things than ever to disagree about. Start with the global economy, where worries over a double-dip recession have resurfaced (see next story). Add American profits to the mix, as firms race to sign off their accounts by August 14th. The perception and reality of leverage throughout the financial system can magnify even small disagreements over figures.
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