Riots hit UK economy, from corner shops to tourism

Stores smashed and looted by rampaging mobs, buildings in flames — the damage was to London and other English cities, but the images were beamed around the world.

Four days of riots have already cost businesses and insurers hundreds of millions of dollars. The cost to Britain's reputation — and its lucrative tourist trade in the runup to the 2012 Olympic Games — may be incalculable.

London's historic center, visited by millions of tourists a year, has been almost untouched by the riots which hit a handful of inner-city and suburban areas. That hasn't stopped images of flaming buildings and shattered shops under headlines like "London's burning" flashing around the globe.

For more: The Associated Press: Riots hit UK economy, from corner shops to tourism