Shares Plunge on Wall Street and Around Europe

August 10, 2011 from Euronews

The turmoil continues on the world's financial markets. Wall Street plunged in early trading; at one stage in the first hour the Dow Jones Industrial Average was almost four percent lower. That was one day after the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, tried to revive confidence by pledging to keep interest rates there at a record low for the next two years. That caused a rebound yesterday but the effect did not last with investors full of fear about the state of the US economy and high levels of public debt there.

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Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, largely in response to a series of financial panics, particularly a severe panic in 1907. Over time, the roles and... Explore this topic

Financial market

A financial market is a market in which people and entities can trade financial securities, commodities, and other fungible items of value at low transaction costs and at prices that reflect supply and demand. Securities include stocks and bonds, and commodities include precio... Explore this topic

World economy

The world economy, or global economy, generally refers to the economy, which is based on economies of all of the world's countries, national economies. Also global economy can be seen as the economy of global society and national economies – as economies of local societies, ma... Explore this topic

Wall Street

Wall Street is the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long, 0.7 miles long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the... Explore this topic

European sovereign debt crisis

The European sovereign debt crisis is an ongoing financial crisis that has made it difficult or impossible for some countries in the euro area to repay or re-finance their government debt without the assistance of third parties. In 1992, members of the European Union signed th... Explore this topic

US debt

The United States public debt is the money borrowed by the federal government of the United States through the issuing of securities by the Treasury and other federal government agencies. US public debt consists of two components: ⁕Debt held by the public includes Treasury sec... Explore this topic

US economy

Throughout this article, the unqualified term "dollar" and the $ symbol refer to the US dollar. The economy of the United States is the world's largest national economy. Its nominal GDP was estimated to be over $15 trillion in 2011, approximately a quarter of nominal global GD... Explore this topic

Euronext Paris

Euronext Paris is France's securities market, formerly known as the Paris Bourse, which merged with the Amsterdam, Lisbon and Brussels exchanges in September 2000 to form Euronext NV, which is the second largest exchange in Europe behind the UK's London Stock Exchange. It now ... Explore this topic

Dow Jones Industrial Average

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, also called the Industrial Average, the Dow Jones, the Dow Jones Industrial, the Dow 30, or simply the Dow, is a stock market index, and one of several indices created by Wall Street Journal editor and Dow Jones & Company co-founder Charles Do... Explore this topic

Economy of France

This article addresses the current economic situation of France. For historical information, see Economic history of France. Economy of French Republic 200pxLa Défense is a major business district in ParisRank 5th (nominal) / 9th (PPP)Currency 1 euro (€1) = 100 centFiscal year... Explore this topic

Also See

Federal Reserve

Financial market

World economy

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