FTSE dives 8 percent on growth fears

By Dominic Lau LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top share index slid 8.2 percent by midday on Friday in a global sell-off in equities as investors feared government efforts to unclog liquidity strains would not avert a global recession. By 1035 GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 352.6 points at 3,961.2, below 4,000 for the first time in more than five years but above an early low of 3,874.0. There was no gainer on the UK benchmark, which has lost more than 20 percent this week and is on track for its worst weekly loss since October 1987. Banks were the top-weighted losers, with the FTSE 350 banks index shedding more than 11 percent. Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, HBOS, Lloyds TSB and Standard Chartered were down between 8.7 and 21.7 percent. Wall Street plunged for a seventh straight session on Thursday as investors bet recent... [read full story]