FTSE 100 (UK) Index dives below 6,000

[marmar]

from The Independent UK:


FTSE 100 Index dives below 6,000
By Graeme Evans, PA City Editor
Published: 16 August 2007


The FTSE 100 Index slid another 3 per cent today as the crisis in world stock markets showed no signs of easing.

Heavy losses in New York and Asia overnight provided the cue for fresh losses in London, with the Footsie now firmly below the 6000 barrier at 5942.8.

The benchmark index has lost 11.3 per cent of its value in the past month, fuelled by worldwide concerns about the exposure of financial institutions to the collapse in the US sub-prime mortgage market.

Around £108.9 billion has been wiped from the value of leading stocks since the close of trading last Wednesday, with the Footsie trading below 6,000 for the first time since March.

The latest sell-off on Wall Street came as investors focused on the possibility of problems at big lenders like Countrywide Financial.

Merrill Lynch issued a sell rating on the stock, fuelling worries about the biggest US home lender's ability to raise cash to secure short-term funds.

Sentiment was hit earlier in the week when retailing giants Wal-Mart and Home Depot issued disappointing profit forecasts.

The Federal Reserve added more cash to the US banking system yesterday, and other central banks have been pouring cash into their banking systems since the end of last week. But the injections have so far failed to ease investor concerns.

Some estimates suggest 300 billion dollars (£150bn) of loans could be at risk because of the sub-prime crisis, but at the moment investors do not know the exact scale of the problem. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2866913.ece

[fasttense]

1. All those poor little rich boys. With all their money tied up in stocks

what is a government to do but attempt to bail them out? So when do I get my bail out?

[Laughing Mirror]

2. Bailouts for the rich

Foreclosures and homelessness for the poor.