Asia bears brunt of record market falls

The European and Asian markets have borne the brunt of the falls, with Japan closing down 5.7pc today and the UK currently 'treading water'. The US market is currently trading around 3pc down on yesterday's close. However, many market commentators are not convinced that the falls will persist, believing that the downturn will be short and relatively mild for the equity market. Astrid Smit, head of investment strategy at ABN AMRO Asset Management, commented: "With the US recession expected to cover the first two quarters of 2008, equity markets could, based on historical data, be pulling...