This quick quiz just in from Citigroup’s Steve Wieting. What do these disasters have in common?
- Three Mile Island
- Chernobyl
- Kobe earthquake
- Indian Ocean tsunami
- Hurricane Katrina
Stumped?
“These are five tragic events with one thing in common: They didn’t precede U.S. or global recessions.”
True enough. So while a big stock market selloff is not exactly an all-clear sign, Wieting contends the issue is uncertainty, rather than sure economic doom, and investors should proceed accordingly. Predicting a recession off this tragedy, he said, is not only difficult but “speculative.”
Something to chew on, anyway.
Also on Fortune.com:
- Sagging stocks put Bernanke on the spot
- In Japan, fending off the unthinkable
- Avoid knee-jerk, anti-nuke moves
Follow me on Twitter at @ColinCBarr.