Hi Jim,
I don’t know if you have seen this or not, but the Rand Corporation has done a study of a hypothetical nuclear attack on the port of Long Beach, California through which about 30% of US shipping passes. The report shows how devastating this would be to the US and the world economy with damage to the shipping infrastructure, refineries, insurance industry, etc. not to mention the human cost, of course.
The outcome of such an attack could very easily be a world wide depression as port activity would come to a halt to prevent any further such attacks and because many people would refuse to work – or even live – in the areas surrounding ports. It is very sobering especially when one considers that Iran is continuing to enrich uranium and the North Koreans are very possibly preparing to conduct a nuclear test. My first thought as I read it was “Suppose it wasn’t just Long Beach, but several ports around the US and/or the world at the same time?” You can download the entire study or just the summary. Either one is interesting reading. Regards, – Tim P.