Global market sell-off driven by grim economic outlook

Carrie Reinheimer October 24 2008 4:32 pm

That was the view on Wall Street Friday afternoon after stock markets in Asia and Europe plummeted in response to a series of dismal earnings and economic reports - from Japan and South Korea to Britain and the United States - that pointed to a deepening slowdown in the global economy. A trigger for Friday's global market plunge appeared to be Sony's announcement Thursday evening, after the Japanese market had closed, that it was cutting its earnings forecast. In Tokyo, shares of Sony, whose sales are heavily dependent on consumer spending in the United States and Europe, fell 12.9 percent Friday. Samsung Electronics, Sony's South Korean competitor, reported a steep profit decline, too, echoing other indicators that the consumer electronics industry is headed for deep trouble. The overall Japanese market crumbled as well, with the Nikkei 225 share average down 9.6 percent, breaking below 8,000 points and hitting the lowest level in five and a half years. While the yen continued to strengthen, the British pound was at a five-year low, at $1.58, and the euro fell to a two-year low, of $1.26. In Britain, data released Friday showed that economic output shrank for the first time in 16 years, falling by 0.5 percent from July through September compared to the previous quarter. Britain is the first of the seven major industrialized nations to publish economic data for the quarter and many economists said they expect the other nations to also report that economic activity has fallen. After Japanese markets plunged, major exchanges in Britain, France and Germany fell sharply in initial trading but made up some of their losses by the end of the day.
So while some places are going up the economic ladder others are going down the ladder. Some places are hoping to make a turn around and go back up the economic ladder. It is really a scary thing that is going on. I wish that things would go back up. I think that it will soon though because it is starting to become so bad. I think that when it hits the rock bottom that it will go back up. When it hits the rock bottom they can only go up. I think that we are almost at the rock bottom so it will go up!

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/24/business/markets.php?page=2