90 at 9: US stocks sell off on US economy fears; ECB sees big bank write-offs

Bernard Hickey details the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9am in association with ASB, including news that US stocks are down 2.7% in late trade on fresh fears about the US economy after a Federal Reserve survey showed the New York economy still contracting sharply. Meanwhile the IMF sees only a slow US recovery in 2010, but has improved its forecast for the size of the contraction this year. Across the Atlantic, the European Central Bank has warned that European banks still need to write off US$283 billion in bad debts.