Consequently, as we look at companies today with a lot of cash on their balance sheets, but a lot of uncertainty in the macro environment, technology is actually a very interesting place for companies to make capital investments today, because technology investments tend to be productivity enhancing and not capacity enhancing.

FORBES: A Fund Manager's Views on Stock Picking

The future of the petroleum balance is always shrouded in a fog of uncertainty.

FORBES: Petroleum Balance

Fundamentalism, which often becomes more intense in times of change and uncertainty, however, is the natural enemy of balance.

ECONOMIST: International

What eventually tipped the balance was the current extreme global financial uncertainty, the mishandling of the crisis by the Icelandic authorities and the overreaction of the UK authorities.

BBC: Why raising interest rates won't work

Over time, by providing a market for these assets that does not now exist, this program will help improve asset values, increase lending capacity by banks, and reduce uncertainty about the scale of losses on bank balance sheets.

WSJ: Geithner: My Plan for Bad Bank Assets

"Over time, by providing a market for these assets that does not now exist, this programme will help improve assets values, increase lending capacity by banks, and reduce uncertainty about the scale of losses on bank balance sheets, " US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner wrote in the Wall Street Journal before the programme was officially announced.

BBC: US unveils $1tn toxic asset plan

Health was the biggest area of uncertainty, with local health boards often requiring extra funding to balance their books at the end of the year.

BBC: Wales budget affordability doubts raised

No wonder that equities, even those of blue-chip companies with solid balance sheets and pretty good business prospects, are taking a hit amid this wave of uncertainty.

FORBES: Here Come the Currency Battles

The overall external balance will depend heavily on capital flows, and the slow pace of recovery may be amplified by political uncertainty, thus pushing more capital out of the country.

FORBES: Thanks to Oil, Russia's Trade Surplus Continues