Shifting conditions

Wall Street shares slid sharply again on Thursday, compounding losses on the Dow
Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 which started last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by more than 1,000 points for the second time
this week, plunging 4.15% to 23,860.

The S&P 500 dropped 100.6 points or 3.75% to 2,581, while the Nasdaq slid 274.8
points or 3.9% to 6,777.1.

The moves follow a day of losses on all key European exchanges.

The 100 share index in London closed down 1.49% at 7,170.69 points. Germany and
France fell 2.6% and 2% respectively.

The dive extends a sell-off that started last week, as investors started to worry that
inflation might rise more quickly than expected, leading policymakers to raise interest
rates.

On Thursday, the Bank of England seemed to offer support for that view.

The bank left interest rates where they were at 0.5% at its meeting, but said a
strengthening economy meant interest rates were likely to rise sooner than the markets
were expecting.

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Also worrying markets was a government budget proposal US lawmakers in Congress

have announced, which raises spending caps and could fan inflation.

Bond yields in the US have also risen in recent weeks, typically a signal of higher rates.

Higher interest rates push up borrowing costs for companies and individuals, which can
hurt corporate profits and curb economic activity.

At the same time, higher interest rates can make investment alternatives to stocks, such
as bonds, more attractive.

Shifting conditions
The uptick in volatility comes as investors react to the shifting conditions.

Thursday's declines mean the Dow and S&P 500 have now fallen by more than 10%
from the record highs set in January, a threshold analysts call a correction.
Shares in financial, technology and consumer companies led the declines on Thursday,
which infected every sector. American Express and Intel were the two biggest losers on
the Dow.

Analysts, who have said for months that the financial markets were due a correction
after a long period of rising prices, urged calm.

"The latest decline takes us back to where we were 17 November," said Greg McBride,
chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com, which tracks interest rates.

"We've just given back some recent gains, not wiped out anyone's life savings."

But the declines have led to questions for President Donald Trump, who had repeatedly
boasted of the market's rapid rise in value last year.

The White House said on Thursday markets were reacting to data that is good news for
the broader economy, including low unemployment and signs of wage growth.

"The president like the rest of the White House is concerned about long term economic
indicators and factors," a White House spokesman said. "The fundamentals in terms of
the long term are very strong.

A "missed opportunity" for potentially life-saving treatment contributed to the death of

a man from constipation complications, an inquest has found.

Richard Handley, 33, who had Down's syndrome, died at Ipswich Hospital on 17
November 2012.

Some 10kg (22lb) of faeces were removed from his body two days before.

Coroner Dr Peter Dean said there were "gross failures" in spotting Mr Handley was in a
critical state after the surgery.

After an 11-day inquest at Ipswich Coroners' Court, Dr Dean said an overall care co-
ordinator "would have prevented this from happening" as there were a number of
agencies involved in looking after Mr Handley.

Mr Handley's mother Sheila, who gave evidence during the inquest, said outside court
she was "disappointed" after the coroner's verdict.

"With hearing about the gross failures identified and missed opportunities spoken of I
find it very hard to understand how the coroner didn't feel able to use the word 'neglect'
in his conclusion," she said.

"It feels to me, having heard all the evidence, that the level of the failures was such that
Richard died because he was neglected. He wasn't given the care he needed to keep him
safe."

Image caption Mr Handley was admitted to Ipswich Hospital on 14 November 2012

Chief executive of The Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, Nick Hulme, said: "I am extremely
sorry that we let Richard and his family down in the last 48 hours of his life.

"I want to give my personal assurance that we have learned from this tragedy and
improved the care and support we provide for people with learning disabilities and
patients whose health is rapidly deteriorating."

Mr Handley died as a result of choking on his own vomit having inhaled gastric
contents following complications with surgery.

The coroner said there were missed opportunities to alert more senior staff to his
condition.

Mr Handley was admitted to hospital on 14 November after his family became

concerned with his distended abdomen, which made him look "full-term pregnant".

He had an operation to remove the faecal matter the following day.

Image copyright Family Handout Image caption The inquest heard Mr Handley was a "much-
loved member" of his family

Mr Handley was born with moderate learning disabilities and bowel problems and
family members said they provided daily laxatives and a high-fibre diet to alleviate his
constipation.

He was moved to a care home in Lowestoft in 1999, which was turned into a supported
living complex in 2009.

This resulted in changes to his diet and a reduction in monitoring his bowel movements,
leading to his constipation worsening.

The coroner said this was the start of a chain of events that led to his death and without
them his "death would not have occurred".

Tim Cooper, from United Response, which ran the home where Mr Handley lived, said
the organisation "could and should have done better".

"The coroner has concluded today that everyone involved in his care acted in good faith
to assist him at all times, but it's clear that we collectively failed Richard," he said.

"We are incredibly sorry for Richard's death. Situations like his are rare but there are
lessons for each organisation to learn from and act upon to provide truly integrated
support for those with learning disabilities in the future."

Image copyright Family handout Image caption Richard Handley's family had told the inquest
his death was "wholly preventable"

Julie Cave, chief executive of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), said
it "fully accepts" the conclusions of the coroner.
She added: "Since the publication of a serious case review in 2015, NSFT has made
significant improvements to the services we provide to people with learning disabilities
who also experience mental illness."

Mike Hennessey, Suffolk County Council director for adult care, said it had "already
taken significant steps to address the recommendations of the serious case review".

He said: "Alongside all organisations involved, we are fully committed to further work
to improve the health and social care services provided to people with learning
disabilities in Suffolk."

Inquest, the charity which provides expertise on state related deaths and their
investigation, worked with Mr Handley's family.

It said "most so called 'natural cause' deaths of people with learning disabilities... are not
afforded proper scrutiny and never have an inquest"

It praised the family for their "persistent fight for answers".

Related Topics
 Lowestoft

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Constipation death patient 'could have been saved'

26 January 2018

Constipation death 'wholly preventable'

22 January 2018
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