Banking Jitters Send European Shares Down

Investors drove share prices down across Europe and Asia as bank emergencies multiplied  and news of the $700-billion US bailout deal failed to loosen up frozen credit markets, reports Bloomberg. British mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley was taken over by regulators and a trio of European governments jumped in to pull financial-services firm Fortis back from the brink. 

French bank Dexia saw its shares plunge 23% on rumors it would launch an emergency round of funding and the German government offered a $50 billion bailout to commercial property lender Hypo Real Estate Holdings after its shares plummeted 62%. Experts remain unconvinced that the US bailout will unlock money markets. “The banking crisis is not over,” one fund manager tells Bloomberg.