The Wall Street Journal
World Markets Fall as
Continent's Debt Crisis Fuels Worries of Lengthy Slowdown
By BRIAN BLACKSTONE And LAURA
STEVENS
FRANKFURT—International
financial markets tumbled as a darkening global economic outlook and deepening
fissures in Europe over its debt crisis fueled fears the world economy could
slip into a period of prolonged malaise.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index
fell 4.1% Monday, with banks hard hit. The euro slid below $1.42, its lowest in
a month. The declines followed a slide in Asia, where stock indexes in China
and Japan dropped by about 2% Monday. On Tuesday morning Asian markets again
moved lower, with Japan shares falling 1.2% by late morning. During early Asian
trading the 10-year U.S. Treasury yields hit as low as 1.911%, the lowest level
in at least five decades, according to traders.