Recession fears hit stock markets

World shares have fallen amid concerns that the world economy will enter a protracted downturn.
The US Dow Jones index Industrial Average fell 2.3% in early trade while the wider S&P 500 Index shed 3%.
London's FTSE 100, the Paris-based Cac and Frankfurt's Dax were all down more than 3% in afternoon trade. Earlier, Asian shares had fallen sharply.
Concerns over a sharp slowdown in US factory activity added to worries about the strength of the economy.