Global recession fears intensify, markets dive

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Poor economic data around the world and another international barrage of corporate profit warnings and job cut announcements intensified fears of deep global recession on Friday.

Seventy-nine years to the day after the 1929 crash that led into the Great Depression, currencies experienced almost unprecedented volatility, oil and other commodities tumbled on fears of plummeting demand that would accompany a slowdown, and stock markets dropped from Tokyo to New York.

"I sense we've moved beyond the credit crisis. There's a recognition of the damage inflicted on the global economy ... by the credit crisis," said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin Securities in London.

"It's not just limited to the developed world. You can run but you can't hide anywhere."

Reports of the euro zone's private economy shrinking this month at the fastest pace since monetary union and a much deeper-than-expected contraction in Britain's economy in the third quarter led many analysts to declare "recession."

The financial crisis, set off by a U.S. housing market collapse nearly 15 months ago, claimed another victim. PNC Financial Services Group Inc's, the first regional bank to participate in the Treasury's $250 billion capital infusion program for banks, agreed to purchase ailing Ohio-based National City Corp in a government-supported $6 billion deal. The purchase of National City, which been crippled by its soured mortgage loans, will create the No. 5 U.S. bank by deposits.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government will allow banks to be the first to announce Treasury Department capital infusions, backtracking from a plan to announce a list of some 20 banks as early as Friday, according to a source familiar with Treasury's plans.

The U.S. Treasury Department was closely studying how it could give relief to bond and mortgage insurance companies under the $700 billion U.S. financial services rescue package, two sources familiar with the deliberations said.

Washington may also bail out the auto industry. General Motors has intensified negotiations to buy Chrysler's auto operations, but intends to seek U.S. government support for any deal, people familiar with the talks told Reuters.

'DIFFICULT TIMES'

Foreign exchange markets were rocked by extreme volatility, with the yen soaring to multiyear highs against the dollar and euro. The euro fell 10 percent against the yen at one point, kindling speculation over how central banks might respond.

Canada's finance minister said the country is headed for tough times, although it is better able to withstand them than most other countries in the West.

"These are difficult times. Canadians should not underestimate what we're facing. We're not an island. We're a trading nation," Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told a news conference.

China warned the outlook for the world economy was grim.

"The global financial crisis has been constantly spreading and worsening, creating a severe shock to global economic growth," Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told an Asia-Europe Meeting of 27 European Union member states and 16 Asian nations.