America heads for 'serious' recession

Global markets reeled this week as banking giant Citigroup revealed a record loss of $9.8bn for the fourth quarter. But expect more writedowns ahead as the US consumer falters.

Global markets reeled this week as Citigroup revealed a record loss of $9.8bn in the fourth quarter amid an $18bn writedown of subprime-related securities, while unexpectedly poor US retail sales also heightened fears of a US recession.

JP Morgan did little to improve the mood, even though it is less exposed to subprime; its fourth-quarter write-off of $1.3bn helped reduce earnings by 21%. American stocks hit a ten-month low and the FTSE 100 slid below the 6,000 level for the first time since August.

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