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May 8, 2010
US probes stock crash



The panic that plunged the Dow well below 10,000 on Thursday spread to Europe, pulling down markets across the region. The European tumbles in turn spooked US investors beginning their trading day in New York, sending the Dow swinging wildly. -- PHOTO: AFP

NEW YORK - US REGULATORS on Saturday probed a stunning Wall Street crash that dragged the Dow Jones industrial average down almost 1,000 points in mere minutes and sparked panic on markets around the world. As indices in Europe plummeted and US markets swung wildly, President Barack Obama vowed Thursday's 'unusual market activity' would be investigated. The panic that plunged the Dow well below 10,000 on Thursday spread to Europe, pulling down markets across the region.

The European tumbles in turn spooked US investors beginning their trading day in New York, sending the Dow swinging wildly. Thursday's stunning dive began without warning. The drop was so precipitous and unexpected it prompted immediate speculation about whether trader error or a technical glitch was involved. At its lowest point, the Dow fell 998.5 points, dropping to 9,869.62. It then recovered half its losses, climbing back up almost as quickly as it had fallen. In little more than 10 minutes, billions of dollars in value was wiped out as investors deserted stocks wholesale.

By the session close, the blue-chip index had recovered significantly, but it was still down 348 points or three per cent - a steep drop that would have sparked concern even on an ordinary day. On Friday the Dow lost another 139.89 points (1.33 per cent), ending the week at 10,380.43 after a session in which it bounced in and out of positive territory. The shocking sell-off came amid continuing concern about the stability of the eurozone, with many uncertain that a 110-billion-euro (S$195 billion) bailout package for Greece would be sufficient to stem the country's debt crisis. -- AFP

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May 8, 2010

EUROZONE WOES
'We're in state of emergency'



'We are in a state of emergency, we need to take decisions,' Mr Berlusconi told fellow eurozone leaders at a summit in Brussels, his spokesman said. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

BRUSSELS - ITALIAN leader Silvio Berlusconi told fellow euro chiefs on Friday that the eurozone is in a 'state of emergency', his spokesman told reporters. 'We are in a state of emergency, we need to take decisions,' Mr Berlusconi told fellow eurozone leaders at a summit in Brussels, his spokesman said. Italy found itself in the speculators' firing line on Friday, with its stock market falling sharply amid growing unease over its high levels of debt.

The original reason for the extraordinary summit of leaders of the nations sharing the euro was to sign off a multi-billion euro bailout package for Greece, which has been foremost in the speculators' sights. Previously Italy had been relatively sheltered, with not only Greece but Portugal and Spain seen as ahead of it in the firing line. But the Milan bourse was panicked on Friday, shedding over four per cent by the close, amid rumours, denied, of a downgrading of the country's credit rating. On Thursday Italy revised down its growth estimate from 1.1 per cent to 1.0 per cent in 2010 and raised its public debt estimate from 116.9 per cent of output to 118.4 per cent. -- AFP