Yen Pounds Dollar as Markets Fall

Markets in worldwide retreat as dollar drops on subprime worries
By Jim O'Neill,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 3, 2008 5:42 AM CST
Yen Pounds Dollar as Markets Fall
Pedestrians walk past an electronic market board in Tokyo Monday, March 3, 2008. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index lost 610.84 points, or 4.49 percent, to close at 12,992.18 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, tracking Wall Street's losses amid persistent concerns about the U.S. economy. That marked...   (Associated Press)

The dollar’s skid accelerated today, taking it to a three-year low against the Japanese yen, and pushing the free-falling greenback to a record bottom against the Swiss franc and other currencies amid worries that subprime woes will worsen, Reuters reports. Worldwide, stocks dove lower on broad concerns about the US economy.

At midday, Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx and the DAX were off 1.5%, and the CAC and FTSE slipped 1.4%. Markets in Asia suffered worse, with the Nikkei closing off 4.5%, the MSCI down 3.1%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX down 3% on the day. Gold traded as high as $983.90 an ounce and silver hit $20 for the first time since 1980. (More yen stories.)

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