Share prices crumbled again today as recession stalked the US economy on still more bleak economic news and as governments mobilised to confront the coming downturn.
European exchanges fell hard shortly after the start of trade on Wall Street, where gloom deepened on news that the current banking and credit crisis had taken a sharp bite out of the manufacturing sector.
The Federal Reserve said US industrial production plunged 2.8 per cent in September, the steepest decline since 1974.
"Today's industrial production report was one of the worst ever," said Aaron Smith on Economy.com.
A separate report by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve on factory activity in the mid-Atlantic eastern region also showed extremely weak conditions. The index plunged 41 points ? its biggest drop ever ? to minus 37.5, the worst level since 1990.
"Recession is on its way," said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics.
"The seeds of recession germinated during the (credit) crisis and the likelihood is that most of the world ? although not China ? will be in recession long after the uncertainty about the world's banking sector has dissipated."
The heavy falls on US, European and Asian exchanges yesterday and today occurred in the absence of major finance sector catastrophes, suggesting that investor jitters now stem from the likelihood of recession in the United States and Europe.
In fact, two key interbank lending rates, Libor and Euribor, eased further on today despite the sharp losses on world stock markets, an indication that banks were becoming less reluctant to lend money among themselves.
Bank skittishness over the past few weeks, when lenders were weighed down by soured mortgage-related debt, had contributed to an acute credit crisis that threatened the health of the global financial system.
In Europe today, the London FTSE 100 index of leading shares fell 5.35 per cent to close at 3,861.39 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 lost 5.92 per cent to finish at 3,181. The Frankfurt Dax closed 4.91 per cent in negative territory at 4,622.81.
Elsewhere there were declines of 5.69 per cent in Amsterdam, 6.54 per cent in Brussels, 3.26 per cent on the Swiss Market Index, 4.11 per cent in Madrid and 6.78 per cent in Milan.
Both of Russia's main stock markets dropped more than nine per cent today after steep falls in the United States and Asia added to investor concerns about plunging oil prices.
The headline index on the dollar-denominated RTS exchange shed 9.52 per cent to close at 713.90 points, while the benchmark index on the rouble-denominated MICEX market dropped 9.11 per cent to close at 626.85 points.
The day's rout began in Asia, where the Tokyo exchange gave up 11.4 per cent, its worst showing in more than two decades.
Elsewhere, Hong Kong lost 4.8 per cent, Seoul sank 9.4 per cent, Mumbai shed 2.11 per cent and Sydney tumbled 6.7 per cent.
* AFP
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Hidden killer
Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.
The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.
Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.
Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.
Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu.
More on Quran memorisation:
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck
'Cheb%20Khaled'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EArtist%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKhaled%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELabel%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBelieve%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh135,000
Engine 1.6L turbo
Gearbox Six speed automatic with manual and sports mode
Power 165hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 240Nm @ 1,400rpm 0-100kph: 9.2 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Dubai World Cup nominations
UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer
USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.
Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.
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