European shares slip as region faces 'hardest hour'

Update: European shares fell today - mirroring overnight losses in Asia and the US - on continued concerns about the eurozone debt crisis, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying Europe faces its "hardest hour" since World War II.

London's FTSE, which closed 0.44% lower yesterday, has lost another 35 points to sit at 5,484, while major indices in France and Germany are down more than 1% despite better-then-expected economic growth figures. The French economy grew by 0.4% in the third quarter, higher than the 0.3% forecast, the national statistics institute INSEE said. Meanwhile, German economic growth stood at 0.5% in Q3. The nation's Q2 growth was also revised up to 0.3% from an initial estimate of 0.1%. But the French Cac lost 1.4% to 3,064 in early trading, while the German Dax is 1.2% lower at 5,912. On ...