STEVE INSKEEP, host: NPR's business news starts with a global stock sell-off.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: Here we are worried about the global economy again. The worries started in the U.S. yesterday and then infected Asian markets. In Tokyo and Hong Kong, in India and Singapore, nearly every stock index lost 2 to 3 percent of its value today. European shares have started their trading day lower as well. This latest flight from financial markets was sparked by gloomy reports in U.S. retail sales and in the U.S. labor market.
Fears about the global economy have flared up again, with worries starting in the United States and then infecting Asian markets. Nearly every stock index in Asia lost 2 percent to 3 percent of its value Friday, and European shares also started the trading day lower. The latest flight from financial markets was sparked by gloomy reports on U.S. retail sales and the U.S. labor market.