The report of North Korea’s fueling / launch preparation of its long range missile is the most serious threat to the markets, at least in my opinion. While North Korea denies that it is readying a launch, the UN members are apparently meeting to figure out what to do about the actions that North Korea is “not taking.” The rhetoric is ramping up and Secretary Rice’s comments that the US would consider a test to be a “provocative act” suggests to me that until this is resolved, the global markets are going to be held hostage. The only solution I see that doesn’t make things worse involves China and excludes the United States. The markets actually responded well the last time we committed an act of war, but I don’t think that will be the case if the US takes out the North Korean missile. Let’s hope this is handled quickly and correctly.