4 Tuesday its highest le el since January 2001

Markets no longer know what St. de ote. ar rom reassuring, the decision o the reser e ederal American to ly to the rescue o AIG's, bankrupt, instead, con inced the operators that the crisis is e en more serious that they thought. The New York Stock Exchange, which resumed Tuesday e ening some orce rom the perspecti e o this rescue, materialized in the night, su ered a serious relapse yesterday. Down rom the opening, the Dow Jones index has continued to increase its losses o er the hours to inally gi e 4.06 at the close. At the time, the European stock markets, which had well started the meeting, are spin-o s in negati e territory. A ter winning up to 1.78 shortly a ter startup o the ratings, the CAC 40 inished on a new decrease o 2.14, barely preser ing the psychological le el o 4,000 points, the lowest since May 2005.

Clearly, markets are to gi e a generalized con idence crisis. ire ighters deploy exceptional means to try to contain the ire, nothing. Yesterday, se eral central banks inter ened to pro ide liquidity to the inancial system, the example o the Bank o England, which has extended three months his special plan launched in April and which was originally scheduled to expire in October.

Libor abo e 5

Indeed, tensions still increased these days in currency markets. "We are seeing a massi e mo ement o liquidity research and those who want at all costs to keep them", said Nordine Naam in Natixis. "The market is groggy," he says. Sign o the tensions, day by day, dollar Libor inter-bank rate remained yesterday o er 5, a ter reaching 6.4 Tuesday, its highest le el since January 2001.

Other signs o stress o in estors, their perception o the risk o ailure o large inancial institutions is extreme. The prices o CDS (credit de ault swap"), these contracts that protect policyholders against possible ailure, ound themsel es propelled to dizzying le els. The cost o a protection to Washington Mutual, or which the US banking authorities, so ar without success, seek a buyer, jumped to 3.800 points against... 412 last December.

In stock, operators ha e continued to massacre the inancial alues, like the British Bank HBOS, washed out in turn by the crisis, should be sa ed in emergency by her colleague Lloyds TSB. This risk a ersion has once more led a rush o assets considered most sa e, e en when they o er yields ery low, e en laughable. This is the case o loans o American State or 3 months ("T Bills"), ery liquid, whose per ormance has plummeted to 0.07 yesterday. They had not e ol ed on such le els since 1954, according to the Bloomberg Agency.

" light to quality".

More generally, any bond class takes ad antage o this phenomenon o " light to quality". or two days, the per ormance o the US Treasury 30-year loan has slipped below 4, to le els it had not recei ed since the beginning o the 1960s, said Dresdner.

Another indicator o the mood o panic that in estors seized these past hours, gold has ended abruptly a role o sa e ha en leaping day more o $ 80 to $ 863 ounces (see page 37). It is true that the e ects o the inancial crisis are spread in the economic sphere. In this regard, the latest statistics published yesterday in the United States ha e added to the distress o the in estors with the widening o the de icit o current accounts and real igures to the lowest or more than 17 years. In such a situation, operators continue to hope, despite the status quo o Tuesday, a gesture o monetary easing o the US ederal Reser e, perhaps e en without waiting or its next ordinary meeting on 29 October.