East to West markets fall on bailout bill

NEW YORK, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Banks and governments in Europe scrambled through the weekend to prevent further unraveling of the global financial crisis.

The $700 billion bailout bill signed Friday by U.S. President George Bush didn't prevent further disarray, as stock markets plunged around the globe Friday and banks requiring rescues became evident in Italy, Ireland and Iceland, The New York Times reported Monday.

Markets in Asia and Australia fell Monday, typically down more than 3 percent after a global drop in markets averaging around 4 percent Friday.

After Ireland announced it would guarantee deposits at six major banks, other European banks complained Ireland had given itself an unfair advantage, the Times reported.

Germany announced it, too, would guarantee deposits.

Italian bank Unicredit said it needed to raise $9 billion in capital. A $15.2 billion bailout for international bank Fortis failed, however. The Netherlands took over its Dutch operations Friday. On Sunday, the Belgian government engineered a transfer of Fortis holdings to French bank BNP-Paribas, the Times reported.