Concern that a global downturn will hurt company profits has frightened
investors and caused stock prices to fall dramatically around the world.
U.S.
stocks fell sharply in Friday's trading, with the Dow, S & P 500,
and NASDAQ indexes losing between two and three percent. Key U.S.
indexes fell even further in earlier trading.
European markets
are also down sharply, dropping between four and six percent after a
report that the British economy is on the brink of recession. The
report said the economy shrank by half-a-percent in the third quarter.
It is the first contraction of the British economy in 16 years.
Asian
investors reacted to disappointing earnings reports from major
companies with a massive selloff. Key indexes in Japan and Hong Kong
lost more than eight percent.
And Russia's battered stock markets fell more than 10 percent, prompting officials to suspend trading on the MICEX.
But
some new data on the U.S. housing market offered a glimmer of hope
Friday. Home resales in the United States rose more than five percent
in September from the previous month, as falling home prices began to
attract some buyers. Severe problems in the U.S. housing market
sparked the global financial crisis.
President Bush has
invited leaders of wealthy nations and the heads of major developing
economies to a summit on November 15 that will focus on the global
financial crisis.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
