The Times writes of a "global tsunami of panic" which wiped nearly eight percent off the value of the FTSE 100 index. The benchmark index on the London Stock Exchange closed at 4589.19, down 391.06, or 7.85 percent fall, led by miners and banks. It was the third-worst percentage fall since the FTSE 100 was created in 1984. As the action picked up on the other side of the Atlantic, AFP reported that Wall Street had "tumbled again". It was joining a sell-off around the world as fears grew that the financial crisis will cascade through economies globally despite bailout efforts by the US and other governments.
The Dow Jones industrials skidded nearly 500 points and fell below 10,000 for the first time in four years, while the credit markets remained under strain. The markets have come to the sobering realization that the Bush administration's $700 billion rescue plan won't work quickly to unfreeze the credit markets, and that many banks are still having difficulty gaining access to cash.
Now I wonder why that is.
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