Markets fall

Markets closed the week with another tumble. Bloomberg reports:

Equities and commodities tumbled for a third day on concern President Barack Obama’s proposal to rein in banks and a possible interest-rate increase in China will stifle the economic recovery. Oil and gold retreated more than 1 percent and Treasuries posted for a third weekly gain.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 2.2 percent at 4:20 p.m. in New York to cap a 5.1 percent three-day plunge, its biggest since reaching a 12-year low in March. In Europe, the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Banks Index sank 1.9 percent to an almost six-month low. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index declined 1.8 percent and fell 4.7 percent over the past five days, its biggest weekly loss since October. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note added 0.01 percentage point to 3.6 percent, trimming its weekly drop.

Obama’s plan to stem risk-taking at banks spurred concern that a recovery in S&P 500 earnings from a record nine-quarter slump will be threatened. U.S. financial shares extended losses in afternoon trading on uncertainty over whether Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will be confirmed for a second term.