World markets face a nervous start to the week following the plunge in stocks in the US on Friday as concerns mounted about fallout from the US mortgage market turmoil. The late sell-off in New York followed comments by the chief financial officer of Bear Stearns, who said credit markets were as bad as he had seen in 22 years. US financial stocks were particularly badly hit on Friday, prompting calls for the US Federal Reserve to intervene by cutting interest rates. At its meeting on Tuesday, the Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged but US Treasury yields tumbled on Friday as the futures market priced in a strong chance of two cuts in the Fed Funds rate by the end of the year.
