DUBLIN — Workers marched in Italy and Spain on Tuesday to protest planned spending cuts as new data confirmed fears of an economic slowdown across Europe.U.S. stocks also slid for the third straight day Tuesday, although they rose above the day’s lows in a late-afternoon rally. At the close, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.9 percent; the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, 0.7 percent; and the Nasdaq composite index, 0.3 percent.
Regional stock markets dropped for a third day, and some had lost about 10 percent of their value since Friday. After a sharp sell-off Monday to start the week, the Stoxx 50 index of euro-zone
“The Europeans face a difficult challenge, but we believe they have both the ability and the will to meet those obligations,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said, adding that President Obama and senior aides had been in regular consultations with European leaders.
Asian markets rebounded in Wednesday trading. Japan’s blue-chip Nikkei 225 index ended its morning session up 1.4 percent.
The market declines in Europe and the United States reflect widening concerns about the euro-area economy as governments battle a complicated and interconnected set of problems that have confounded them for nearly two years. Leading analysts have compared the situation to the months leading up to the 2008 collapse of Lehman Bros. and have warned that a fragile global economy could not stand another financial crisis of that magnitude.
But the sense of instability is clear, from the streets of capitals clogged with striking workers to the offices of central banks.
Officials at the Swiss National Bank surprised markets Tuesday by imposing a minimum exchange rate of 1.20 francs to the euro. The Swiss have been struggling to curb their soaring currency, which has become a haven amid jitters over the euro and which threatened the Swiss economy by driving up the price of the country’s exports.
Some analysts said they feared a disruption in currency markets if other nations take similar measures to keep their currencies from rising as the dollar and the euro slump.
The Swiss bank said it was prepared to buy “unlimited” amounts of foreign currency to support the minimum exchange rate. The Swiss franc fell nearly 8 percent against the euro for the day.
Also Tuesday, Greece’s finance minister sought to calm fears that his country was at serious risk of a second default, the Associated Press reported. Evangelos Venizelos pledged to speed up delayed reforms meant to trim the country’s bloated public sector, open tightly regulated professions to competition and kick-start an ambitious privatization plan.“Greece is not the pariah of the European Union. It is not a permanent sore and problem,” Venizelos told reporters. “It is an equal, competitive country that has a very serious problem regarding its public debt and fiscal deficit. We can and shall overcome this, but not without carrying out the structural reforms in full.”companies shed an additional 1.8 percent Tuesday.
Washington Post
hostgator coupon 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment