M A I N   N E W S

Tumble Tuesday
Global stocks hit their lowest since 2005

London, September 16
Investors dumped equities, oil and emerging market assets on Tuesday, unleashing a panic rush to secure short-term cash as the financial turmoil escalated a day after Lehman Brothers collapsed. A global exodus from risky assets extended into the second day after Lehman filed for bankruptcy protection and Bank of America agreed to buy Merrill Lynch on Monday, driving up the low-yielding yen and safe-haven government bonds. Acute stress was building up in the interbank money markets.

n The price of oil fell further — $ 92.4 a barrel.
n The Dow Jones index is down to its lowest since 9/11.

Trouble in Asia: Asian stocks dropped on Tuesday, with markets in Japan and Hong Kong down 5 per cent, on concerns Wall Street’s upheaval will cause lasting damage to the global economy, sending investors fleeing to government dept.

Sensex recovers: Amidst a plunge in major Asian and European stocks today on global financial crisis, the Indian benchmark Sensex today closed flat after recovering the hefty losses in morning trade with a surprise buying in banking stocks. The BSE barometer settled the day at 13,518.80 points, lower by marginal 12.47 points, or 0.09 per cent, from its last close.

Dollar drops: The US financial system may never be the same, analysts said. The US dollar slipped to 104.31 yen after ending overnight in New York around 104.54 yen. It had its biggest single-day decline against the yen in nine years.

Re plunges; biggest fall in a decade

The rupee posted its biggest fall in a decade on Tuesday, although suspected central bank intervention stopped the slide just short of 47 per dollar. The partially convertible rupee ended at 46.89/90 per dollar, off a trough of 46.99 which was its lowest since July 24, 2006. — Agencies