FTSE plummets 7% on miner and Wall St slide

At 4pm, London’s blue chip index was 320.22 points behind, or 7.29%, to 4073.99. Falling metal prices has punished the miners, with Eurasian slumping 22.89%. Insurer Old Mutual is also struggling, 19.02% lower. Lloyds TSB is the only stock showing any fight, 2.12% ahead. European markets are also in freefall, with Frankfurt’s Dax diving 6.67% and Paris’ CAC 40 plunging 6.18%. Wall Street is reeling from weak US retail sales figures, which has reignited recession fears. The Dow Jones IA has plummeted under 9000 once again – currently 337.63 points down, or 3.63%, to 8973.36. Alumin...