Global Stocks Skid Amid Recession Fears

German, French indexes drop more than 3%; Asian stocks down at close

(NEWSER) - European stock markets opened markedly lower today over continued misgivings about the situation in the US and Europe, the New York Times reports. Germany’s main index fell 3.9% this morning, while France’s fell 3.4%—on the heels of yesterday's 5% drop; Britain’s benchmark index was down 2.8%. Meanwhile, Asian stocks tumbled, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 closing down 2.5%, South Korea’s Kospi falling 6.2%, and Tawain’s Taiex dropping 3.6%. In Australia, the market closed down 3.5%. More»

Investors starting to panic that nobody has answers

(NEWSER) - What's behind the market meltdown? Some on-the-fly observations:

• Ezra Klein, Washington Post : The market is "diving because of forces Washington can’t control, and in many cases, doesn’t understand very well. How many members of Congress do you think could give a coherent account of what has happened to oil or steel prices over the last three years? Or what’s happening in the Eurozone? Or to the yuan?" Nobody knows where the recovery will come from, and the markets are reflecting that panic.

British MP calls American default 'next big iceberg' for economy

(NEWSER) - With America's $14.3 billion potential default just nine days away, markets are growing increasingly spooked by the rising danger, reports the Telegraph . “We may have a few stressful days coming up—stressful for the markets of the world and the American people,” says White House chief of staff Bill Daley. Analysts blamed those worries for sending Asian markets down today , with the China's Shanghai Composite Index off 2.7%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 down 1.4%, and Japan's Nikkei, Korea's KOSPI, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index all declining 0.8%. More»

Growth fits economists' predictions

(AP) - The economy grew slightly faster over the summer as Americans spent a little more freely: The GDP grew at a 2% rate during the third quarter, in line with what economists had forecast. It marks a slight improvement over last quarter, when the GDP grew at a 1.7% rate. Consumers helped boost last quarter's economic growth with 2.6% growth in spending, the biggest quarterly increase since the end of 2006, before the recession hit. More»

Dow up 61% since the low point in March

(NEWSER) - Stocks have rebounded mightily since the dark days of March, though analysts warn the dazzling recovery could make for a lackluster 2010, or even auger a double-dip recession or '30s-style yo-yoing markets. The good news first: Barring a disastrous close today, the Dow will be up around 61% since March lows, and 20% for the year, the best showing since 2003. The S&P and NASDAQ are also on track to have their best year since then. More»