Markets nose-dive over Crimean speculation PART 2

Moscow shares plunged by more than ten per cent today, gold shot to a four-month high, the rouble fell to record lows against the dollar and the Russian central bank was forced to raise interest rates to shore up the country's currency. It's the sort of market response you'd expect in a crisis. And a crisis it is: Britain's foreign secretary William Hague described the turmoil in Ukraine as the biggest emergency to face Europe so far this century. Officials in Ukraine have said that Russia has told Ukrainian forces in the Crimea region to surrender within the next twelve hours or face a full military assault. Russia has since denied this. Meanwhile, the Group of Eight major industrialised nations - which includes the US, Germany and the UK among others - has suspended preparations for a G8 summit. It's scheduled to be held in the Russian city of Sochi in June this year.