EU Frets Over Fallout From US Economy's Slide

Stock markets around the world continued to hemorrhage today on worries the US would slide into recession, prompting finance ministers to warn that the slump is threatening EU growth. They revised forecasts downward for the 15-member EU, reports Bloomberg. “There is great concern about the financial crisis,” said the Belgian finance minister.

Slumping global markets have erased more than $5 trillion in equity. Luxembourg's finance minister said the pullback would force the EU to revise a November growth projection for 2008 from 2.2% to 1.8%. Policy makers hoped to avoid the US’s subprime contagion, but the euro has fallen against the yen and dollar recently. (More US economy stories.)