European shares ended lower on Thursday, as banking stocks continued to weaken.
HBOS fell 2.6%, Royal Bank of Scotland was down 3.5%, Lloyds TSB fell 5.5% and Commerzbank was down 2.4%.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 0.7% lower at 853.81 points. It has lost more than 43% to date this year.
Across Europe: the German DAX index was down 0.8% and France's CAC index was down 0.4%.
The Swiss market index closed at 5,729.85 points, down 22.06 or 0.38%.
In Britain, the FTSE 100 closed up 0.5% or 21.41 points at 4,388.69. The index is down 32% for the year.
Cracks emerged in a global effort to drag the world out of recession with Germany attacking Britain ahead of an EU summit for rushing into debt to bail out industries and pump up growth.
A proposed bailout of the bailout auto industry in the United States also headed for a clash, in the US Senate where there is Republican opposition.
US stocks fell as a result. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 196.33 points, or 2.24%, to end unofficially at 8,565.09.
Standard & Poor's 500 Index sank 25.65 points, or 2.85%, to finish unofficially at 873.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 57.60 points, or 3.68%, to close unofficially at 1,507.88.
In other economic news: the US trade deficit widened 1.1% in October to $US57.2 billion.
Deflation fears grew in China while South Korea and Switzerland cut interest rates to keep their economies afloat.
Other markets
In Japan, the Nikkei-225 index rose 60.31 points to 8,720.55. The Topix index of all first section issues climbed 14.70 points, or 1.76%, to 849.25.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 index ended down 42.7 points, or 1.17% at 3,598, while the All Ordinaries fell 39.1 points, or 1.09%, to 3,534.2.
The New Zealand market inched higher, up 15 points or 0.56%, to 2726 on turnover of $53 million. Top stocks all gained, with Telecom up 2 cents to $2.40, Contact rose 2c to $6.87 and Fletcher Building up 18c to $5.83.
