Bailout chaos hits the City
The global banking crisis deepened today after American politicians failed to agree a bail-out deal.
The breakdown of rescue talks in Washington plunged the world's financial system back into despair after a day of rising optimism.
Meanwhile, another series of blows buffeted the City and Wall Street at the end of a second week of drama and uncertainty.
In London, leading shares dropped sharply in early trading with the FTSE-100 down 91.67 points to 5105.35.
Shares in Bradford & Bingley slumped again, falling 4p to an all-time low of 17.25p after a 25 per cent drop yesterday.
Banking giant HSBC said it is to cut at least 500 jobs in London as part of a worldwide cost-cutting initiative.
US bank Washington Mutual had to be rescued by JP Morgan Chase after savers withdrew billions of dollars of deposits making it the biggest US bank to fail.
City bankers were warned that their bonuses are likely to be halved this year.
The Bank of England said it was making $80 billion (£43.5 billion) available to British-based banks because they are refusing to lend to each other.
