Markets `in freefall' as crisis deepens

INVESTORS are nursing massive losses after more than £93bn was wiped from the value of the UK's biggest companies as the FTSE 100 index suffered its biggest fall for 21 years - and experts were today predicting further slides unless interest rates are cut worldwide. As fear swept through global markets and governments rushed to prop up banks across Europe, the Footsie slumped 7.8 per cent yesterday, its largest one-day percentage decline since the aftermath of Black Monday in October 1987. One analyst said today the market was `in freefall' and nowhere near the bottom. Another, Nigel Mills, of Manchester-based stockbroker WH Ireland, warned of further stock market weakness unless concerted action was taken to reduce interest rates across the globe. He also urged prime minister Gordon Brown to guarantee bank deposits in the UK... [read full story]