Bourses retreat on governor''s comments, Argentina pension takeovers

Markets continued to fall today, as gloom over the economy spread.

An admission from the governor of the Bank of England that the UK would likely slide into recession, along with the announcement from HM Revenue & Customs that home sales had fallen by 53 per cent, contributed to the losses.

The FTSE 100 closed 189.21 points, or 4.47 per cent, down at 4040.52.

Investors have been affected by grave reports of a potential default in Argentina, as the government took over a swathe of the nation''s private pension funds, along with continuing fears over the financial stability of eastern European economies such as Hungary and Bulgaria.

Wachovia also revealed a $23.9 billion quarterly loss today – one of the highest in US history.

In Paris, the Cac 40 closed 5.21 per cent down, while Frankfurt''s DAX also dropped 5.01 per cent.

Philippe Gijsels at Fortis Global Markets told Bloomberg: "You see the slowdown in companies and economies and this is only the beginning. You will see a very nasty shakeout."

He added: "We are still very cautious on the market."