By Craig Whitlock and Blaine Harden Washington Post Foreign Service Saturday, October 11, 2008; Page D01 BERLIN, Oct. 10 -- Fear seized investors around the world Friday as stock markets dropped to levels not broached for several years. National leaders tried to intervene with reassurances and stopgap measures, to no avail. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index fell by 9.6 percent, its worst single-day decline in two decades, ending an abysmal week in which the index lost nearly one-quarter of its value. A century-old Japanese insurance company filed for bankruptcy protection. Stocks plunged elsewhere in Asia, as well as in Europe and South America. Middle East markets were closed. Iceland, Russia, Austria and Indonesia suspended trading or stopped it for the entire day to slow the declines. "It is as if the bottom has fallen out of...
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