NEW YORK // Stock prices in the United States, Asia and Europe careened lower today, extending a stampede of selling that began in on Wall Street a day earlier, deepening a global financial crisis that has defied all efforts to stop it. This week's coordinated interest rate cuts by the world's central banks to thaw frozen credit markets and boost investor confidence have fallen flat as markets remain gripped by fears about the scale and depth of the likely global recession. Wall Street headed lower today with the Dow Jones industrials dropping 600 points in early trading. The Wall Street Journal reported that government officials are considering temporarily guaranteeing all US bank deposits and billions of dollars of bank debt, in addition to possibly buying stakes in individual banks. The New York Times also said officials are reviewing a British proposal that also includes repayment guarantees for certain types of loans. Administration officials said that several financial rescue plans are being reviewed, but no announcements are likely before finance ministers from the seven biggest industrial nations meet today in Washington. The US$700 billion federal bailout legislation enacted on October 3 cleared the way for the government insurance limit for bank deposits to be temporarily raised from $100,000 to $250,000 in cases where bank or savings and loans fail. That guarantee covered $5.2 trillion of deposits, but another $1.8 trillion is not presently covered, according to the Wall Street Journal. But a Treasury Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of market conditions, said covering all deposits is not now being considered. "We raised the limit one week ago and have no plans to remove the limit," the official said. Yesterday's anniversary of the US stock market peak turned into one of the worst days in Wall Street history, with the Dow Jones industrials losing a breathtaking 679 points, or 7.3 per cent. Asian markets followed Wall Street's cue today, as key market gauges dropped 9.6 per cent in Japan, eight per cent in India and 7.2 per cent in Hong Kong. European stocks slumped, with the London stock market plunging almost 10 per cent. Key market barometers lost 7.3 per cent in London, 7.7 per cent in Germany and 7.5 per cent in Paris. A stream of selling forced exchanges in Austria, Russia and Indonesia to suspend trading, and the rout in Australian markets caused traders to call it "Black Friday". "Overall it's the fact that despite the huge firefighting efforts of central banks worldwide we still haven't seen any thawing of interbank lending that is going to be causing the most concern now," said Matt Buckled, a dealer at CMC Markets in London. *AP and AFP
