Worldwide financial fiasco

Markets around the world hammered by credit crunch as governments move to secure bank deposits.

Markets were thrashed again on Monday, as the US credit crisis spreads worldwide. The Dow Jones lost another 370 points and closing at under 10,000 for the first time since October 2004. At one point the Dow was down 800 pts. But managed to recoup half. The day started with reaction to sharp declines in Asian and European markets. Tokyo's Nikkei index fell to its lowest level in four and a half years, sinking 4.25 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 4.3 percent. Markets in China, Australia, South Korea, India, Singapore and Thailand also fell sharply. In Europe the trading was halted twice in Russia with the market closing down 19.1 percent, the DAX in Frankfurt, Germany was down 7.1 percent, while the FTSE 100 index in the UK was down 7.9 percent. Stocks in Paris took a big hit losing 9 percent. Across the Atlantic Brazil lost 5.5 percent; Argentina was off 5.9 percent, while Mexico's index fell 5.4 percent, In Canada the TSX was down 5.3 percent. Faltering confidence in the financial system following a series of bank bailouts forced many European governments to offer deposit guarantees. Expectations are that the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank will have a coordinated interest rate cut as early as Monday, the first joint action since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US.