FTSE slides despite banking bail-out

An emergency 0.5% rate cut on top of the Government’s £50bn (€63bn) banking bail-out failed to stop the FTSE 100 Index from sliding more than 5% during a volatile session today.

The blue-chip index fell 238.5 points to 4366.7 – its lowest level since August 2004 – as fears the economy is heading for a major recession outweighed any boost from policymakers.