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Today: The flight to quality is on this morning in global markets after a Biblical scale, unconscionable crackdown against protestors in Libya has global investors in fear of interruptions in oil exports. Unstable at the best of times, the Libyan government, led by Muammar Qadaffi, booted out all media and shut down Internet access.

Then it started using helicopters, fighter jets and naval guns to shoot down its own people, leaving hundreds dead, according to the meagre number of eyewitness reports that are coming out of the country. Libya has the seventh-largest national oil reserves; this fact has WTI crude trading US$6.50 higher to US$92.55 per barrel and Brent crude up 1.07 to US$106.80. U.S. Treasuries are also catching a bid as investor assets head for cover. Gold, which did jump higher yesterday, is currently lower by 9.00 to 1397.34 an ounce. The upheaval, as a threat to global economic growth, has the major metals trading sharply lower. Copper is down 1.88% to 4.3695, aluminum is 2.8% lower while zinc and lead are weaker by more than 3% at time of writing. The trade weighted US$ index was significantly higher earlier, but is currently relatively unchanged at US$77.76.

Global inventories held by semiconductor suppliers surged to their highest level in two-and-a-half years during the fourth quarter of 2010, a development that could spell trouble if chip industry growth loses steam this year, new IHS iSuppli research indicates.

Semiconductor suppliers had 83.6 days of inventory (DOI) at the end of the fourth quarter of 2010, up 5.5 days, or 7 percent, from 78.1 days in the previous quarter. Inventory was at its highest level since the second quarter of 2008—right before the onset of the last semiconductor downturn—when DOI reached 84 days.