FTSE plummets through 5,000 as panic returns

European markets fell back into the red on Friday as investor concerns about the global economy returned.

After a bright start which saw indices in London, Germany and France all open higher, they all fell significantly in late morning trading. The initial slump, which began yesterday morning, was sparked by a Federal Reserve warning about the outlook for the US economy. That also followed gloomy forecasts from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank about the global situation. Reassurances on Friday from the G20 that it was ready to take action to stabilise markets failed to calm investors. The FTSE 100, which earlier topped 5,100, was at 4,972 by 12:30pm, a fall of 75 point...