Markets tumble as IMF warns worst of crisis could be ahead

Markets around the world tumbled on Monday as Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said the worst of the global recession was yet to come.

By Angela Monaghan
Published: 9:21PM BST 15 Jun 2009

The FTSE 100 closed down 2.6pc or 115.9 points at 4326.01. It was the lowest close in six weeks and was driven by falls in the mining sector as a stronger dollar hit metal and oil prices.

However Britain's blue chip share index has risen 25pc since hitting a six-year low in March. In the US the Dow Jones was down 187 points at 8612 while the CAC 40 in Paris and DAX in Frankfurt both closed down more than 3pc. The pound closed down more than a cent against the dollar at $1.6338.

Commenting on the meeting of the G8 finance ministers in Italy over the weekend, Mr Strauss-Kahn said: "Their stance is that we are beginning to see some green shoots but nevertheless we have to be cautious. The large part of the worst is not behind us yet."

A recent flurry of upbeat UK economic data has raised hopes that the recession here could be coming to an end much sooner than previously hoped.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/econ ... ahead.html