Markets News Afternoon: European markets close down; In Dublin bank stocks fall in range 4%-6%;...

In Europe today, the Dow Jones 600 Index fell 0.2%. National benchmark indexes fell in all 18 western European markets except France and Sweden. In Dublin, the ISEQ Index fell 1.29%. The 4 bank stocks fell in the range 4%- 6%. Elan rose 6%. Bloomberg reports that European banks and financial institutions are paying the highest interest rate premium since the introduction of the euro to borrow cash in exchange for securities in the repurchase agreement market. Three-month German general collateral repo rates exceeded overnight indexed swaps based on the European Overnight Index Average, or EONIA, by about 7 basis points on July 24, the most since the shared European currency debuted in 1999, according to data tracked by UBS AG. The repo rate averaged about 5 basis points below the similar maturity OIS over... [read full story]