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Recession fears send world markets down
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-20 21:16 Businesses have been quick to respond to the gloomy outlook by cutting jobs. Most notably, Citigroup said Monday that it is cutting 53,000 jobs around the world.
In Britain, aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce PLC said it plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs next year as demand for its products slumps amid the global economic downturn. "We've gone past the poor sentiment stage," said Miles Remington, head of Asian sales trading at BNP Paribas Securities in Hong Kong. "People are looking for any kind of positive and there are just no positives out there. Everyone seems to be united in the depressed global outlook," he said. "Whether it's commodities or equities, everything seems to be on a downturn." Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's main index fell for its eighth straight session, losing 6.7 percent to 948.69, as the country's currency, the won, fell to its lowest level in more than a decade. Hong Kong's Hang Seng benchmark sank 517.24 points, or 4 percent, to 12,298.56. In Australia, the main stock measure retreated 4.2 percent as weakening commodity prices dragged down the country's resource giants - BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were both down 9 percent or more. The gloomy global economic outlook has taken its toll on oil prices, which have fallen to their lowest in nearly two years. Light, sweet crude for December delivery was down $1.32 at $52.30 a barrel in mid-morning London trade. Overnight, the contract retreated 77 cents to settle at $53.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest since January 2007. The dollar weakened 0.6 percent to 95.31 yen, while the euro edged was steady at $1.2513. |
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