BLOOMBERG/ Analysts predict that Chile's biggest stock market decline in a year and the drop in its peso are temporary setbacks after the fifth worst earthquake since 1900 rocked the center of the Andean nation. Chile’s $11.3 billion savings fund will stabilize the peso after today’s “knee-jerk” decline, according to Goldman Sachs. “It’s a pretty horrific event, but long-term Chile can handle this quite well, although the short-term looks difficult” said another analyst. The peso had rallied 26 percent in 2009, the most since at least 1982, after the government spent $9.3 billion. Chile’s central bank will likely delay raising interest rates while growth will be disrupted for at least two quarters in the $169 billion economy. Meanwhile in Concepcion, a city of 500,000, a young man was shot and killed and 160 arrested as troops tried to stop the looting of goods during an overnight curfew. Reportedly, the government has worked out a reimbursement deal with supermarkets allowing citizens to legally cart away food-- but not TVs and appliances.
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