Debt crisis: Stock markets take fright over health of global
economy  By late afternoon the FTSE 100 was down 138.22 points
at 5580.17 with the French CAC and German DAX indices down 2%
and 3.5% respectively An electronic board showing falls in
market indices around the world outside a brokerage in Tokyo An
electronic board showing falls in major market indices around
the world outside a brokerage in Tokyo on Wednesday. Photograph:
Yuriko Nakao/Reuters   After heavy selling in London when
trading began, as worries about the European debt crisis
continued, the declines accelerated once Wall Street opened in
the wake of yet more poor US economic figures.  Following
Monday's weak US manufacturing survey, pointing to a slowdown in
the world's largest economy, came a weak service sector survey
which fell to its lowest level since February 2010. On top of
that US factory orders dropped in June, prompting dealers to
press the sell button on shares.  The Dow Jones industrial
average fell by more than 100 points, or 1