China’s economic slowdown and financial mayhem are fostering a cycle of decline and panic across much of the world, as countries on nearly every continent see escalating risks of prolonged slumps, political disruption and financial losses. South Africa’s currency, the rand, plunged Monday after stocks once again sold off in China, which is the country’s largest trading partner. South Africa’s economy — like those of many countries on the African continent — had been fueled by China’s hunger for natural resources, but the slowing demand now threatens to compound its many other problems and worsen a food crisis. Throughout South America, China’s declining appetite for commodities has led to deep recessions and talk of a “lost decade.” Venezuela is facing inflation in the double […]