US wildfires could spark financial crisis, advisory panel finds

Home values, state tourism and local governments could be damaged, causing defaults and market disruptions

The devastating wildfires now sweeping across the western US are among the sparks from climate change that could ignite a financial crisis by damaging home values, state tourism and local government budgets, an advisory panel to a US markets regulator found.

Those effects could set off a cascade of events including defaults and market disruptions, undermining the economy and sparking a crisis, according to a report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).