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It lasted just 16 minutes but left Wall Street experts and ordinary investors alike struggling to come to grips with what had happened — and fearful of where the markets might go from here. At least part of the sell-off appeared to be linked to trader error, perhaps an incorrect order routed through one of the nation’s exchanges. Many of those trades may be reversed so investors do not lose money on questionable transactions. But the speed and scale of the plunge — the largest intraday decline on record — seemed to feed fears that the financial troubles gripping Europe were at last reaching across the Atlantic. Amid the rout, new signs of stress emerged in the credit markets. European banks seemed to be growing wary of lending to each other, suggesting the debt crisis was entering a more dangerous phase.
Spain Sees Borrowing Costs Rise in Latest Bond Sale - NYTimes.co
In afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 3.6 percent, at 10,579.44 points, but earlier in the session sank by as much as 9.2 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was down 3.7 percent to 1,122.27. The Nasdaq composite was off 3.4 percent at 2,320.53 points. Major European markets also tumbled, but not to the same degree. After a strong showing early in the session, the IBEX 35, the benchmark stock index in Madrid, closed down 2.9 percent, while the Euro Stoxx 50 index of euro-zone blue chips fell 2.5 percent.
Spain Sees Borrowing Costs Rise - NYTimes.com
John Kolesidis/Reuters Demonstrators smashed shop windows, overturned garbage bins and set fire to at least two businesses. ATHENS—Greece's fiscal crisis took a new turn to violence Wednesday when three people died in a firebomb attack amid a paralyzing national strike, while governments from Spain to the U.S. took steps to prevent the widening financial damage from hitting their own economies. U.S. Treasury officials have been quietly urging their European and International Monetary Fund counterparts to put together a Greek rescue plan more quickly to contain the damage, it emerged Wednesday, as U.S. policy makers worry the continent's problems could undermine a U.S. recovery much as U.S. housing woes hammered Europe in 2008.
Europe Crisis Deepens As Chaos Grips Greece - WSJ.com
Investors had been speculating that the European bank might take the unprecedented step of buying Greek bonds itself after a 110 billion euro, or $142 billion, rescue package by the and , announced Sunday, failed to soothe fears that would default on its debt. But the president of the central bank, , said the subject of a drastic move to reassure markets, like buying government bonds directly, did not even come up at the bank’s regular monthly meeting, which was held in Lisbon on Thursday. Investors had hoped for a stronger indication that the central bank was willing to take bold steps in response to the debt crisis, which could lap into Portugal and Spain as well as Italy, Ireland and Britain.
E.C.B. Leaves Rates Unchanged - NYTimes.com
Europe Finance Chief Complains About Ratings Agencies - NYTimes.
Mr. Barnier was briefing reporters before his first official visit to the United States, where he will meet next week with , the chairman, and , the secretary. He will also meet with Wall Street leaders like , the chief executive of , and , the chief executive of . Mr. Barnier complained that there were too few debt rating agencies, and he suggested that they were dominated by American owners. “There are not enough ratings agencies, not enough competition and not enough diversity,” he said.