Concern that a global downturn will hurt company profits has frightenedinvestors and caused stock prices to fall dramatically around the world.
U.S.stocks fell sharply in Friday's trading, with the Dow, S & P 500,and NASDAQ indexes losing between two and three percent. Key U.S.indexes fell even further in earlier trading.
European marketsare also down sharply, dropping between four and six percent after areport that the British economy is on the brink of recession. Thereport said the economy shrank by half-a-percent in the third quarter. It is the first contraction of the British economy in 16 years.
Asianinvestors reacted to disappointing earnings reports from majorcompanies with a massive selloff. Key indexes in Japan and Hong Konglost more than eight percent.
And Russia's battered stock markets fell more than 10 percent, prompting officials to suspend trading on the MICEX.
Butsome new data on the U.S. housing market offered a glimmer of hopeFriday. Home resales in the United States rose more than five percentin September from the previous month, as falling home prices began toattract some buyers. Severe problems in the U.S. housing marketsparked the global financial crisis.
President Bush hasinvited leaders of wealthy nations and the heads of major developingeconomies to a summit on November 15 that will focus on the globalfinancial crisis.