BBC: Shares in Europe and the US have fallen sharply after more bleak news on the US economy alarmed investors.
The 2.7% fall in December retail sales has sparked fresh fears about the state of the world's largest economy, analysts said.
London's FTSE 100 index closed down by more than 5% in mid-afternoon trading, with banks among the biggest fallers.
On Wall Street, the key indexes fell about 3%, while the main market in France and Germany lost about 4.5%[.] >>> | Wednesday, Januaru 14, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: FTSE 100 Joins Global Rout of Stock Markets
The FTSE 100 joined a global tumble in stock markets as new evidence of the scale of the slowdown in America underlined fears that banks around the world will need more capital.
Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, HBOS and Lloyds TSB led the declines on the FTSE as investors digested the prospect that a deepening recession will leave banks with bigger losses.
HSBC, one of the banks to have so far escaped the worst of the credit crisis, tumbled more than 10pc after analysts at Morgan Stanley estimated it may need to raise $30bn.
“HSBC is the real drag on the market today and it looks like people are moving their positions away from the banking sector as worries about profits persist,” Joshua Raymond, a strategist at City Index in London, told Bloomberg News. >>> | Wednesday, January 14, 2009
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