All times in BST (except graphs, which are in GMT).2130: The Dow Jones closes down nearly 190 points or 2% at 9258.1.
2120: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says the government is prepared to buy stakes in failing banks while waiving voting rights, in an attempt to stabilise its financial sector.
2015: US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says that more financial firms are expected to fail in the US despite a $700bn government bail-out programme.
1939: US President George W Bush telephones German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss US measures to bring stability to the markets, a White House spokeswoman says. Mr Bush also returns a call to Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the same subject, the spokeswoman adds.
1930: Iceland's Prime Minister Geir Haarde admits to the BBC's Ray Furlong that he did not know whether the country's biggest bank, Kaupthing, was safe from the global financial crisis. "I wish I could give you an affirmative answer. I think they are and I hope they are and it's been our objective to ensure that they are, so I assume so."
1746: President George W Bush hopes the co-ordinated central bank interest rate cuts will "start to stem the crisis" which has hit markets worldwide, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino says.
1712: The President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, says he is pleased that interest rates were cut by the European Central Bank. "It is very important that recognising different national situations that all the governments of Europe act inside or in the framework of common agreed principles," he says.
1649: US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will attend a news conference at 2000 BST to discuss the Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors meeting on Friday.
1647: European stock markets close with heavy losses after investors brushed aside the central banks' efforts to combat the financial crisis. The UK's FTSE index closes 5.18%, or 238.53 points, down at 4,366.9. Germany's DAX dropped 5.88%, or 313.01 points, to end at 5,013.62, while the French CAC index closes down 6.31%, 235.33 points, at 3496.89.
1629: A spokesman for UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he spoke to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the president of the European Commission, Jose Barroso, about the his government's bank rescue plan before it was widely released.
1624: Iceland's Prime Minister, Geir Haarde, says he hopes to find a "mutually satisfactory solution" with the UK over the loss of British savers' deposits at a collapsed Icelandic bank.
Mr Haarde says there is a "good probability" the total assets of Landsbanki will be sufficient to cover the losses at IceSave, its online arm, which suspended withdrawals on Wednesday.
1602: Iceland's central bank announces it is abandoning its attempts to peg the national currency, the krona, to the euro, because there has been "insufficient support". The BBC's Edward Main in Reykjavík says stabilising the krona was a major plank of the economic rescue plan announced by the government this week.
1550: European stock markets continue to fall after their short-lived recovery in response to the interest rate cuts. The UK's FTSE is down 5.23%, or 240 points, at 4,364, while Germany's DAX has dropped 5.37%, or 286 points, to 5,319. The French CAC index is down 5.89%, or 219 points, at 3,759.
FTSE 100 INDEX: 8 October 2008
1522: Hungarian Finance Minister Janos Veres says the government will guarantee all bank deposits with immediate effect, the AFP news agency reports. The decision comes after similar moves by Austria and Slovakia on Wednesday.1520: The White House welcomes the central banks' decision to cut interest rates by half a percentage point in an effort to stem the financial crisis. "It's important and helpful that central banks are working in a co-ordinated way to deal with stress in the financial system," says spokesman Tony Fratto.
The US presidential hopefuls, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, also say they support the rate cut. "This is a global crisis that requires a global solution," says Mr Obama, adding that "more urgent and vigorous action is necessary". Mr McCain says it is imperative that the "government be responsive to the needs of Americans, restore confidence in our financial system, provide assistance to struggling homeowners, and implement pro-growth policies that will create jobs".
1442: The International Monetary Fund warns that the world economy is heading for a major downturn. In its bleakest forecast for years, the IMF says financial markets are facing the most dangerous shock since the 1930s and reduces its forecast for next year's global economic growth by nearly 1%. The IMF says a recovery is projected to take place progressively in 2009, but it is expected to be unusually gradual because of continued financial market problems.
1500: US stock markets recover from an opening plunge following the interest rate cuts. The Dow Jones is trading 0.95%, or 89.28 points, higher at 9,536.39. It fell 149 points in the first three minutes of trading. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq index is up 1.14%, or 19.98 points, and the Standard & Poor 500 ahead by 1.3%, or 13 points.
DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: 8 October 2008
1458: Two of France's largest high street banks, Caisse d'Epargne and Banque Populaire, are talking about merging to create the country's second biggest banking group. Caisse d'Epargne says its board has approved plans for a merger and authorised its managers to "undertake discussions" with Banque Populaire. The French finance minister earlier said such a deal would be "a very good thing".
1435: The US Dow Jones Industrial Average plunges 1.93%, or 182 points, on opening despite the central banks' interest rate cuts.
1423: The International Monetary Fund's chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, says the co-ordinated interest rate cuts by the six central banks was a "step in the right direction", but warns that "more may be needed", particularly in Europe, as economies slow.
1400: European stock markets are falling once again despite almost recovering the day's losses immediately following the interest rate cuts. The UK's FTSE is 3.62%, or 166 points down at 4,438, while Germany's DAX has dropped 3.59%, 191.45 points, to 5,135. The French CAC index is down 3.47%, or 129 points, at 3,602.
Similarly, US stock index futures are dropping, with the Standard & Poor's 500 down by 19.80 points, or 1.97%, Dow Jones industrial average futures by 190, or 1.99%, and Nasdaq-100 futures by 33.75, or 2.53%.
1336: The European Commission unveils proposals to give more rights to consumers shopping online across the borders of the 27 nations of the European Union. The proposals aim to boost online shopping in Europe to allow people to take advantage of cheaper prices during the financial crisis.
1318: The UK Treasury confirms that another Icelandic bank trading in the UK has collapsed. Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander was closed down by the authorities on Wednesday morning. Its deposit business, Kaupthing Edge, was earlier transferred to ING Direct UK.
1313: UK mortgage providers drop the cost of their home loans following the emergency cut in interest rates. Halifax says it will be reducing its standard variable rate (SVR) from 7% to 6.5% from 1 November. Lloyds TSB, which also lends under the Cheltenham & Gloucester brand, says it will cut its SVR by half a percentage point to 6.5% on the same date.
1255: The UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, tells the House of Commons that the Bank of England's surprise interest rate cut will "help our objective of maintaining stability and rebuilding the banking system".
1252: European stock markets recover sharply in response to the interest rate cuts by the central banks. London's FTSE erases earlier losses and rises 12.61 points, or 0.27%, to 4617. Germany's DAX climbs to 5,262, 1.21% down on Tuesday. The French CAC index is now down only by 0.29% or 10.74 points.
US stock index futures are also responding positively to the news. The Standard & Poor's 500 futures index is up by 17.2 points, or 1.68%. Dow Jones industrial average futures are up 23, or 0.24%, and Nasdaq-100 futures 13.8, or 1.02%.
1234: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov tells the BBC that Russia had called for a forum to discuss economic issues at the G8 summit in Japan in July, but that the idea had not been taken up. "Now I understand G8 leaders are suggesting to consider an emergency meeting of the G8 summit to discuss exactly this issue. Better late than never," he says.
1225: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev backs Mr Sarkozy's call for an enlarged G8 meeting and says his country will "actively participate in the process of re-establishing the global financial system".
1219: French President Nicolas Sarkozy says co-ordinated action between governments and central banks is the only way to confront the "unprecedented financial storm" and calls for an enlarged G8 meeting to tackle the crisis.
"No country, even those who have great natural resources or foreign exchange reserves can ward off the impact of the crisis even though some may resist better than others... There can be no isolated answers to these global challenges," he warns.
1212: China's central bank reduces interest rates by 0.27 percentage points to 6.93%, its second cut in less than a month. It also announces that the government is increasing the pool of money available for lending by reducing the amount banks must hold in reserve.
1200: The US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank (ECB), Bank of England, and the central banks of Canada, Sweden and Switzerland make emergency interest rate cuts of half a percentage point.
The Fed cut its base lending rate to 1.5%, the ECB to 3.75%, and the Bank of England to 4.5%. Japan says it supports the reductions, but it is not following suit as its benchmark rate is already low.
"The pace of economic activity has slowed markedly in recent months," the Fed says. "Moreover, the intensification of financial market turmoil is likely to exert additional restraint on spending, partly by further reducing the ability of households and businesses to obtain credit."
1150: The Indian software services provider, Tata Consultancy Services, says it is buying one of the key business units of Citigroup in India, Citigroup Global Services Limited, for $505m. As part of the deal, Tata will provide Citigroup and its affiliates with outsourced services for about $2.5bn over nine-and-a-half years. Citigroup is one of the US banks worst hit by the international credit crisis and has, reportedly, been seeking to sell off assets worldwide that are either less profitable or peripheral to the bank's core business.
1148: A news conference with Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde has been postponed until 1600 (1700 BST). Mr Haarde is expected to provide further information on his government's response to the financial crisis.
1114: Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer says his government will give an unlimited guarantee on bank deposits of savers. European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny says he welcomes the move.
1114: The price of US light crude oil falls by more than $4 to a 10-month low of $86.05 as investor concern mounts about how the financial crisis will affect the demand for fuel. London Brent crude meanwhile falls by $2.86 to $81.80 a barrel.
1056: French Finance Minster Christine Lagarde says the UK rescue package shows the authorities are taking pro-active steps to deal with the crisis. "The measure is very strong. It certainly meets the needs of the British banks," she tells French RTL radio.
1048: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is to convene an emergency cabinet meeting at 2000 (2100 BST) on Wednesday "to examine a decree on urgent measures to guarantee the stability of banks and savings".
1045: Germany's DAX index is trading down 6.1%.
1023: Singapore's main Straits Times Index closes 6.61%, or 143.94 points, lower at 2,033.61, in line with other markets across Asia.
1006: ING Direct UK announces it is to acquire £2.5bn ($4.4bn) of deposits from Kaupthing Edge, the UK retail arm of Iceland's biggest bank, and £538m ($934m) of deposits from Heritable Bank, whose parent company Landsbanki was placed in receivership by the Icelandic government on Tuesday.
0927: Hong Kong's main Hang Seng index closes down 1,372.03 points, or 8.17%, at 15,431.73
0924: UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown describes the £50bn ($88bn) rescue package to bolster British banks as "bold and far-reaching". "Our stability and restructuring programme is comprehensive, it is specific and breaks new ground," he says.
0922: Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso says Wednesday's near 10% plunge on the Nikkei 225 was "beyond our imagination", and that he has "huge fears" for the future of his country's economy.
The BBC's John Sudworth in Tokyo says investors are now spooked by concerns that the credit crunch is already squeezing the real economy.
0910: The chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, Sir Fred Goodwin, welcomes the UK government's rescue package as something that will "enable us to strengthen our position and to support our customers across the economy".
Sir Fred also denies a report that he and the RBS chairman, Sir Tom McKillop, are about to step down: "We have been uniquely focused on working with government and the other banks to bring stability to the system. Management changes have not been a feature of these discussions," he says.
0910: France's CAC 40 plunges 8.18% to 3,426, its lowest level since December 2003.
0900: The UK's FTSE 100 index falls 7.1% to 4,278.
0815: Russia's Micex exchange announces it is suspending trading until Friday after the index drops more than 14% in the first half-hour of trading. The RTS exchange was suspended until further notice after falling 11.25% to 761.36.
0804: Sweden's central bank says it will loan up to 5bn kronor ($701m; £402m) to the Swedish branch of Iceland's biggest bank, Kaupthing. The central bank says it believes Kaupthing Bank Sverige is solvent, but that conditions in Iceland are making it difficult to meet its payment obligations.
08:02: The UK's FTSE 100 index opens down 1.8%.
0740: Australia's All-Ords index closes down 228.1 points, or 4.96%, at 4,369.8, a day after rallying in response to a 1 percentage point interest rate cut by the central bank.
0731: UK government announces details of a rescue package for the banking system worth at least £50bn ($88bn). BBC Business Editor Robert Peston says the deal amounts to a semi-nationalisation. The government is also offering up to £200bn ($350bn) in short-term lending support.
Eight of the county's largest banks and building societies confirm their participation in the government's recapitalisation scheme. These include: Abbey National, Barclays, HBOS, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide Building Society, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered Bank.
The cash will come with conditions such as restrictions on executive pay and on dividends to shareholders.
0718: South Korean President Lee Myung-bak dismisses fears that his country, China, or Japan could face a financial crisis similar to that in Europe. Speaking as the South Korean won plunges by another 5% against the dollar, Mr Lee says Asia's three largest economies have a combined $1.8 trillion in foreign reserves.
0700: Japan's Nikkei 225 index closes down 952.58 points, or 9.4%, at 9,203.32 - its biggest daily fall in 21 years.
0635: The deputy governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, Mohammed al-Jasser, says the country has no liquidity problems and is not exposed to the financial crisis engulfing the US and Europe. He also says bank deposits are safe.
0615: India's benchmark Sensex index sinks by 5.3% as fears of a global recession mount.
0607: Hong Kong's central bank says it will cut interest rates from 3.5% to 2.5%.
0540: All Asian markets are sharply down, The Nikkei 225 falls to its lowest level since August 2003.
0535: Trading is suspended for a day on the Indonesia Stock Exchange due to "irregularities" after the benchmark JSX index sank 10.4%, or 168.1 points.
0110: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 opens sharply down after the large sell-off on wall Street on Tuesday.
1435: The US Dow Jones Industrial Average plunges 1.93%, or 182 points, on opening despite the central banks' interest rate cuts.
1423: The International Monetary Fund's chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, says the co-ordinated interest rate cuts by the six central banks was a "step in the right direction", but warns that "more may be needed", particularly in Europe, as economies slow.
1400: European stock markets are falling once again despite almost recovering the day's losses immediately following the interest rate cuts. The UK's FTSE is 3.62%, or 166 points down at 4,438, while Germany's DAX has dropped 3.59%, 191.45 points, to 5,135. The French CAC index is down 3.47%, or 129 points, at 3,602.
Similarly, US stock index futures are dropping, with the Standard & Poor's 500 down by 19.80 points, or 1.97%, Dow Jones industrial average futures by 190, or 1.99%, and Nasdaq-100 futures by 33.75, or 2.53%.
1336: The European Commission unveils proposals to give more rights to consumers shopping online across the borders of the 27 nations of the European Union. The proposals aim to boost online shopping in Europe to allow people to take advantage of cheaper prices during the financial crisis.
1318: The UK Treasury confirms that another Icelandic bank trading in the UK has collapsed. Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander was closed down by the authorities on Wednesday morning. Its deposit business, Kaupthing Edge, was earlier transferred to ING Direct UK.
1313: UK mortgage providers drop the cost of their home loans following the emergency cut in interest rates. Halifax says it will be reducing its standard variable rate (SVR) from 7% to 6.5% from 1 November. Lloyds TSB, which also lends under the Cheltenham & Gloucester brand, says it will cut its SVR by half a percentage point to 6.5% on the same date.
1255: The UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, tells the House of Commons that the Bank of England's surprise interest rate cut will "help our objective of maintaining stability and rebuilding the banking system".
1252: European stock markets recover sharply in response to the interest rate cuts by the central banks. London's FTSE erases earlier losses and rises 12.61 points, or 0.27%, to 4617. Germany's DAX climbs to 5,262, 1.21% down on Tuesday. The French CAC index is now down only by 0.29% or 10.74 points.
US stock index futures are also responding positively to the news. The Standard & Poor's 500 futures index is up by 17.2 points, or 1.68%. Dow Jones industrial average futures are up 23, or 0.24%, and Nasdaq-100 futures 13.8, or 1.02%.
1234: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov tells the BBC that Russia had called for a forum to discuss economic issues at the G8 summit in Japan in July, but that the idea had not been taken up. "Now I understand G8 leaders are suggesting to consider an emergency meeting of the G8 summit to discuss exactly this issue. Better late than never," he says.
1225: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev backs Mr Sarkozy's call for an enlarged G8 meeting and says his country will "actively participate in the process of re-establishing the global financial system".
1219: French President Nicolas Sarkozy says co-ordinated action between governments and central banks is the only way to confront the "unprecedented financial storm" and calls for an enlarged G8 meeting to tackle the crisis.
"No country, even those who have great natural resources or foreign exchange reserves can ward off the impact of the crisis even though some may resist better than others... There can be no isolated answers to these global challenges," he warns.
1212: China's central bank reduces interest rates by 0.27 percentage points to 6.93%, its second cut in less than a month. It also announces that the government is increasing the pool of money available for lending by reducing the amount banks must hold in reserve.
1200: The US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank (ECB), Bank of England, and the central banks of Canada, Sweden and Switzerland make emergency interest rate cuts of half a percentage point.
The Fed cut its base lending rate to 1.5%, the ECB to 3.75%, and the Bank of England to 4.5%. Japan says it supports the reductions, but it is not following suit as its benchmark rate is already low.
"The pace of economic activity has slowed markedly in recent months," the Fed says. "Moreover, the intensification of financial market turmoil is likely to exert additional restraint on spending, partly by further reducing the ability of households and businesses to obtain credit."
1150: The Indian software services provider, Tata Consultancy Services, says it is buying one of the key business units of Citigroup in India, Citigroup Global Services Limited, for $505m. As part of the deal, Tata will provide Citigroup and its affiliates with outsourced services for about $2.5bn over nine-and-a-half years. Citigroup is one of the US banks worst hit by the international credit crisis and has, reportedly, been seeking to sell off assets worldwide that are either less profitable or peripheral to the bank's core business.
1148: A news conference with Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde has been postponed until 1600 (1700 BST). Mr Haarde is expected to provide further information on his government's response to the financial crisis.
1114: Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer says his government will give an unlimited guarantee on bank deposits of savers. European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny says he welcomes the move.
1114: The price of US light crude oil falls by more than $4 to a 10-month low of $86.05 as investor concern mounts about how the financial crisis will affect the demand for fuel. London Brent crude meanwhile falls by $2.86 to $81.80 a barrel.
1056: French Finance Minster Christine Lagarde says the UK rescue package shows the authorities are taking pro-active steps to deal with the crisis. "The measure is very strong. It certainly meets the needs of the British banks," she tells French RTL radio.
1048: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is to convene an emergency cabinet meeting at 2000 (2100 BST) on Wednesday "to examine a decree on urgent measures to guarantee the stability of banks and savings".
1045: Germany's DAX index is trading down 6.1%.
1023: Singapore's main Straits Times Index closes 6.61%, or 143.94 points, lower at 2,033.61, in line with other markets across Asia.
1006: ING Direct UK announces it is to acquire £2.5bn ($4.4bn) of deposits from Kaupthing Edge, the UK retail arm of Iceland's biggest bank, and £538m ($934m) of deposits from Heritable Bank, whose parent company Landsbanki was placed in receivership by the Icelandic government on Tuesday.
0927: Hong Kong's main Hang Seng index closes down 1,372.03 points, or 8.17%, at 15,431.73
0924: UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown describes the £50bn ($88bn) rescue package to bolster British banks as "bold and far-reaching". "Our stability and restructuring programme is comprehensive, it is specific and breaks new ground," he says.
0922: Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso says Wednesday's near 10% plunge on the Nikkei 225 was "beyond our imagination", and that he has "huge fears" for the future of his country's economy.
The BBC's John Sudworth in Tokyo says investors are now spooked by concerns that the credit crunch is already squeezing the real economy.
0910: The chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, Sir Fred Goodwin, welcomes the UK government's rescue package as something that will "enable us to strengthen our position and to support our customers across the economy".
Sir Fred also denies a report that he and the RBS chairman, Sir Tom McKillop, are about to step down: "We have been uniquely focused on working with government and the other banks to bring stability to the system. Management changes have not been a feature of these discussions," he says.
0910: France's CAC 40 plunges 8.18% to 3,426, its lowest level since December 2003.
0900: The UK's FTSE 100 index falls 7.1% to 4,278.
0815: Russia's Micex exchange announces it is suspending trading until Friday after the index drops more than 14% in the first half-hour of trading. The RTS exchange was suspended until further notice after falling 11.25% to 761.36.
0804: Sweden's central bank says it will loan up to 5bn kronor ($701m; £402m) to the Swedish branch of Iceland's biggest bank, Kaupthing. The central bank says it believes Kaupthing Bank Sverige is solvent, but that conditions in Iceland are making it difficult to meet its payment obligations.
08:02: The UK's FTSE 100 index opens down 1.8%.
0740: Australia's All-Ords index closes down 228.1 points, or 4.96%, at 4,369.8, a day after rallying in response to a 1 percentage point interest rate cut by the central bank.
0731: UK government announces details of a rescue package for the banking system worth at least £50bn ($88bn). BBC Business Editor Robert Peston says the deal amounts to a semi-nationalisation. The government is also offering up to £200bn ($350bn) in short-term lending support.
Eight of the county's largest banks and building societies confirm their participation in the government's recapitalisation scheme. These include: Abbey National, Barclays, HBOS, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide Building Society, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered Bank.
The cash will come with conditions such as restrictions on executive pay and on dividends to shareholders.
0718: South Korean President Lee Myung-bak dismisses fears that his country, China, or Japan could face a financial crisis similar to that in Europe. Speaking as the South Korean won plunges by another 5% against the dollar, Mr Lee says Asia's three largest economies have a combined $1.8 trillion in foreign reserves.
0700: Japan's Nikkei 225 index closes down 952.58 points, or 9.4%, at 9,203.32 - its biggest daily fall in 21 years.
0635: The deputy governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, Mohammed al-Jasser, says the country has no liquidity problems and is not exposed to the financial crisis engulfing the US and Europe. He also says bank deposits are safe.
0615: India's benchmark Sensex index sinks by 5.3% as fears of a global recession mount.
0607: Hong Kong's central bank says it will cut interest rates from 3.5% to 2.5%.
0540: All Asian markets are sharply down, The Nikkei 225 falls to its lowest level since August 2003.
0535: Trading is suspended for a day on the Indonesia Stock Exchange due to "irregularities" after the benchmark JSX index sank 10.4%, or 168.1 points.
0110: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 opens sharply down after the large sell-off on wall Street on Tuesday.
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