The closures of facilities belonging to a major Bangladeshi company was another indication of the difficulty Western retailers face in making sure their manufacturing partners are providing safe working conditions.
An indication of their influence is the key roles they played in effecting a major management revamp of two of the country's largest corporations: Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Philippine Airlines (PAL).
The movement in major government bond yields - the implied interest rate that countries pay to borrow money - was small - an indication that bond investors saw limited risks at the moment.