FTSE plunges amid fears of new recession

The FTSE dropped more than 3% in early trading on Friday, following US and Asian markets sharply lower as the global sell-off continues.

RBS is the biggest faller, plummeting 14% to 26p. The bank was trading at more than 600p in 2007. Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays are down 10% while HSBC has fallen 1.5%. Elsewhere in Europe, the Cac 40 in France is down 2.2% at 3,247.02, while Germany's Dax index is down 3.5% at 6,188.76. Italy's index has slid almost 4pc this morning. In the US, losses accelerated in the late afternoon to leave markets nursing their worst single day performances since the financial crisis, with investors continuing to panic over the eurozone sovereign debt crisis and slowing global growth. T...