It is not immediately clear that terrorist action has been involved but three people have been reported killed in two bombings at the finishing line of the Boston Marathon and over a hundred were injured, many seriously.

It has the hallmarks of the first terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11 and markets have initially reacted negatively, especially equities, in the US and Asia, with the european opening calls also looking lower.

The recent boyant markets were also suffering from poor GDP data from China that came out much lower than expected.

Gold has continued to decline, down nearly 8% in the UK yesterday with no apparent bottom in site, reflected also in the price of mining stocks that were substantially lower all round.