"This is a market crash by any other name."

Fear grips world stock markets

United States, European and Asian stock markets have plummeted, as lending rates between banks continue to rise despite this week's efforts by central banks to break the impasse in credit markets.

The Dow Jones industrial average of leading US shares in New York fell nearly 700 points on opening, briefly dropping below the 8,000 mark.

European markets were hard hit again, with Britain's FTSE-100 down 6.9 per cent, German's DAX down 8.5 per cent, and France's CAC-40 down eight per cent.

Asian stock markets had dropped sharply earlier on Friday, with the Nikkei 225 down 9.6 per cent and the Hang Seng lower by 7.2 per cent.

John Terrett, Al Jazeera's correspondent in New York, said: "The markets have come down more than 20 per cent in just seven days. This is a market crash by any other name."

From Al Jazeera's Website