Stock markets prepare themselves for further falls

It was the main reason for a breakdown on the Polish capital market. The major Warsaw bourse indicator, the WIG, lost 5.3% during the day yesterday which is the largest daily decrease since March 2000. In order to calm down the emotions, the Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz declared: "I believe that the decrease of the prices of shares will not last long." The analysts advice to remain calm and most of them believe that the latest price decreases are just a correction of earlier increases. However, there is much uneasiness on the bourse. The prices of shares decreased by several dozen percent which may mean that investors are beginning to lose nerve and the customers who entrusted their savings to investment funds may soon begin to withdraw them. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. A1, B1) E.B.