European stocks plunged Monday and the euro tumbled, as investors piled into safe-haven assets amid rising fears over Europe's sovereign debt crisis and economic growth on both sides of the Atlantic, the Wall St Journal reports. The Stoxx Europe 600 index slumped 4.1% to close at 223.45 on Monday, a day when U.S. markets were shuttered for the Labor Day holiday.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year German government bond plunged to well below 2%, a new record, while Italian yields rose on fears the government's commitment to austerity and reform is weakening.
Europe' beleaguered banking sector was battered over concerns about growth as well as lawsuits filed against 17 lenders Friday by the top U.S. federal housing regulator, saying they sold $196 billion of risky home loans over four years to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac without adequately disclosing the risks.
Further evidence of the weakness of the European economy came in weak purchasing managers index data from France, Germany and the euro zone as whole….
Read more at
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904537404576551794282106026.html
No comments:
Post a Comment