European markets continue to tumble on October 16 amid fears of a global economic slowdown and the impact of the Ebola crisis.
The main stock markets in Germany, the UK and France fell more than 2%, tracking a sell-off in Asia and on Wall Street.
On October 15, London’s FTSE 100 saw its heaviest one-day fall in 16 months.
Borrowing costs for Greece and Italy rose, and investors looking for a safe haven pushed the gold price higher.
Analysts said that a raft of disappointing economic and corporate news had unnerved investors.
Recent poor data from China, Germany and the US have heightened worries that global economic recovery could go into reverse.
European markets continue to tumble on amid fears of a global economic slowdown and the impact of the Ebola crisis
Meanwhile concerns about the spread of Ebola and its impact on emerging markets have added to the worries. Companies linked to travel and tourism have seen their share prices fall in the past couple of weeks, offsetting hopes that the recent fall in the oil price would lower their long-term fuel costs.
The price of US crude has gone below $80 a barrel for the first time since June 2012, pulling down oil-related shares such as BP and Tullow.
Financial shares were among some of the biggest fallers across Europe. Royal Bank of Scotland was down another 3.6% after falling heavily on October 15.
Meanwhile, in France, Societe Generale and BNP Paribas fell 5% and 4% respectively amid worries about their exposure to a slowdown in southern European economies.
Greece’s borrowing costs rose on Thursday on fears about the country’s exit from the bailout it received during the financial crisis.
The yield on Greek 10-year bonds rose 85.2 basis points to 8.72% – its highest since January. Investors are worried that the country could struggle to borrow money once it is weaned off bailout money.
In Spain, Madrid’s benchmark IBEX 35 index fell 4.28% after a bond issue failed to raise as much as the government hoped.
Meanwhile, gold traded at a one-month high, while the price of copper and some other metals fell to multi-month lows amid concern that demand would fall because of an economic slowdown.
[youtube jxnWBF02sjA 650]
Paris shootings suspect Abdelhakim Dekhar has been charged with attempted murder and kidnapping.
Abdelhakim Dekhar was arrested in a car park in Paris on Wednesday after French police launched a large-scale manhunt.
He is suspected of threatening a TV station a week ago, before attacking Liberation newspaper office and Societe Generale HQ on Monday.
Prosecutors have said that samples of DNA from Abdelhakim Dekhar, 48, matched that from the crime scenes.
Abdelhakim Dekhar’s lawyer, Remi Lorrain, has complained of “violations of his right to be presumed innocent”.
Abdelhakim Dekhar has been charged with attempted murder and kidnapping
The spate of attacks started on Friday November 17, when a gunman threatened the Paris TV station, BFMTV.
Then on Monday, a photographer’s assistant was seriously hurt in a shooting at the left-wing newspaper, Liberation, before shots were fired in front of the headquarters of the Societe Generale bank in the Paris business district of La Defense.
Abdelhakim Dekhar was arrested on Wednesday in an underground car park in the Paris suburb of Bois-Colombes following a tip-off from a member of the public.
He was found in a semi-conscious state after an apparent suicide attempt.
The French authorities say Abdelhakim Dekhar was jailed in 1998 for his role in a string of fatal shootings in Paris and he was sentenced to four years in jail, but was released soon after the verdict, having already served his time in pre-trial detention.
[youtube upBJKdTmDls 650]
Paris authorities have launched a manhunt after a gunman attacked offices of the newspaper Liberation and fired outside the HQ of the bank Societe Generale.
A photographer, 27, was critically hurt at Liberation. The gunman later forced a motorist to drive him to the Champs Elysees before allowing him to go.
Police are looking for the same man who broke into the Paris offices of the 24-hour news channel BFMTV on Friday.
Police have now been stationed outside all the main media offices in Paris.
At a news conference, investigators held up two images, one of the suspect in a street and another picture, from BFMTV surveillance cameras, which was earlier shown on Le Parisien‘s website.
Paris prosecutor Francis Molins said that a lone gunman appeared to be behind the three attacks and the hijacking. He said the suspect had not yet been identified and the motive was still unclear.
The man is said to be between 40 and 45, and shaven-headed.
The gunman had walked into BFMTV on Friday morning and emptied the chamber of his gun in the reception area.
“Next time, I will not miss you,” the man had said to an editor he threatened.
A police helicopter hung over the Champs Elysees amid fears the gunman might be heading towards the Eiffel Tower, but it is speculated that he might have gone into the metro.
People have been encouraged to stay indoors.
Paris authorities have launched a manhunt after a gunman attacked offices of the newspaper Liberation and fired outside the HQ of the bank Societe Generale
Police say the suspect is calm and assured and each time has walked away from the scene of his attacks.
French media say the suspect told the motorist he hijacked that he was armed with grenades.
President Francois Hollande, who is in Israel, said the priority was “to stop an individual who had tried to kill and could try to kill again”.
At 10:15 local time on Monday, the gunman entered the Paris offices of Liberation, near the Place de la Republique in the east of the city, and opened fire.
He injured a photographer in the chest and stomach before escaping. Liberation said three spent cartridges had been found.
The gunman did not say anything during the attack, Liberation reported.
Some two hours later, the bank Societe Generale confirmed that a man opened fire outside its headquarters in the western business district of La Defense. No-one was injured, the bank said.
One witness of the bank shooting told Le Figaro that he heard a large bang and saw a man wearing a khaki coat and a cap and carrying a shotgun.
The gunman’s second shot caused panic and the man then disappeared down some stairs on to a street, the witness said.
Police say the gunman then hijacked a car in Nanterre, close to La Defense, and forced the driver to take him to the Champs Elysees, where he was dropped near the metro station George V.
Liberation‘s deputy editor Fabrice Tassel said the victim there was fighting for his life.
The victim – who has not been named – was said to be a freelance assistant photographer who had just arrived at the newspaper office to work on a fashion photoshoot.
Police have sealed off the area around Liberation‘s offices. Interior Minister Manuel Valls has visited the scene, along with Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti and the Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoe.
Manuel Valls said: “As long as this person is still on the loose and we do not know the motives, this represents a threat. We must move fast.”
Liberation‘s publisher Nicolas Demorand said: “In a democracy, when someone enters a newspaper office with a gun, this is very, very serious, whatever the person’s mental state.”
[youtube 3439gOT3ojE 650]
