World economy a shambles: Spain to feel contagion next

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slid 3.5 percent to 18,985.50 while benchmarks in Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan and Malaysia lost 3 percent or more. Stock markets in India and Singapore were down more than 2 percent while China dropped 1.9 percent. South Korean financial markets fell sharply after reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il ordered his military to be on combat alert amid rising tensions on the peninsula.

SHOOT: Time to buckle up and buy gold. And if you've got money on the stock markets, good luck sleeping tonight.

clipped from www.thetimes.co.uk FTSE drops below 5,000 on fears of Spanish crisis London’s leading share index plunged below the psychologically important 5,000-level this morning on fears that Europe’s sovereign debt crisis will cause more turmoil across the global financial sector. UK banking stocks tumbled clipped from www.fin24.com War, banking worries rattle markets London - World and emerging stocks slid to their lowest since September 2009 and the euro and oil fell on Tuesday on worries over the euro zone banking sector and concerns over tensions on the Korean peninsula. "Spanish banking fears certainly exacerbate contagion risks," said Lee Hardman, currency economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. Across the globe, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has told his military the country may have to go to war if the South attacks, with angry rhetoric on both sides having stepped up in recent weeks. Holidays in many European countries on Monday delayed the sharp sell-off into Tuesday's trade.