Few places to hide as recession risks rise

By Daniel Bases

Jan 16, Reuters

NEW YORK - Rising fears of slowing economic growth in the United States and Europe led to weak stock markets across the globe on Wednesday and punctured the rally in ballooning commodity prices also.

Bargain hunters bought the beaten-up financial sector stocks, which briefly helped lift benchmark U.S. indices into the plus column.

U.S. recession fears were stoked after the No. 3 U.S. bank, JP Morgan (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said its quarterly profit fell more than expected due to risky mortgages while No. 1 computer chip maker Intel Corp (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) missed Wall Street estimates.
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photo: Elderly investors monitor share prices in front of a computer displaying the falling Hang Seng Index during afternoon trading inside a brokerage in Hong Kong, January 16, 2008 (REUTERS/Bobby Yip)