Recap of global markets

Europe and Britain

The London FTSE 100, Paris CAC and Frankfurt DAX sank as investors punished stocks to vent their frustrations with disappointing, and perhaps unrealistic, earnings prospects. Equities prices continued to sink as unremitting pessimism about profit outlooks sent indexes to fresh nine-month lows. Those who have cash stashed away are picking through the rubble only selectively, leaving markets with little volume and no safety net on negative news. With the mood so negative, any good news about an economic recovery is ignored. After an exuberant Monday, equities fell the rest of the week, with the exception of the FTSE on Friday. On the week, the FTSE 100 fell only 0.6 percent while the CAC and DAX fell 1.1 and 1.7 percent respectively.

Asia

Although merchandise trade surpluses continue to support growth in the absence of domestic demand, all Asian indexes followed here sank. The United States is Asia's primary export market. Few signs of a capital spending rebound combined with constant worries about the strength of the U.S. consumer took their toll on equities, especially those that rely on U.S. sales. Although companies in Japan have had their share of legal problems, the focus remains on U.S. problems.