According to Reuters, equity markets around the world are in retreat.br On May 23rd, MSCI's all-country world stock index fell over 1.3-percent.br In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 index and the Stoxx 600 index dropped 1.4-percent on the day.br On Wall Street, the top three markets on the New York Stock Exchange lost almost 2-percent each.br The Dow Jones Industrial Average shredded 43-points, with the Nasdaq Composite plummeting 160-points, while the S&P 500 lost about 50-points.