Europe, Stocks Down | featured news

Stock indexes gave back some of their gains Monday and the euro turned lower against the dollar following a report that Germany and five other major European nations could risk having their credit ratings downgraded.

The worst week for the stock market in two months ended with a whimper in thin trading Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 4.8 percent this week, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 4.7 percent. Both had their worst weeks since Sept. 23.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 200 points just before midday Wednesday after Italy's borrowing costs soared, a sign that Europe's debt crisis had spilled into the third-largest economy in the euro bloc.

World stocks hit a 15-month low on Tuesday and the dollar rose to a nine-month peak as fears over a major banking crisis in Europe mounted.

Stocks began the final quarter of 2011 on Monday the same way they ended the last one, falling amid pessimism over Europe's efforts to contain its sovereign debt problems and fears that a wider economic slowdown ...

Stocks are tumbling as investors worry that Greece won't qualify for a new installment of emergency funds in time to avoid defaulting on its debt.

A top board member of the European Central Bank unexpectedly resigned on Friday in what analysts saw as further evidence of the deep divisions over how to resolve Europe’s growing debt crisis. The move immediately rattled European markets and the euro, which slipped to a six-month low against the dollar. The European Stoxx and German DAX indexes tumbled 3.5 percent.

Stock markets in Asia opened sharply lower Friday amid signs of a possible U.S. recession and renewed worries over the financial health of Europe's banks.

Shares were down after a disappointing report on home prices. Traders also took in a mixed batch of earnings in the United States and Europe.

The tone for Wall Street’s retreat was set before the opening bell with markets in Asia and Europe also falling.