BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — The European Commission on Tuesday urged the United States to show "statesmanship" in the financial crisis for the sake of the world economy.

EU Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said the EU was disappointed the U.S. House of Representatives rejected the rescue package for the financial markets and added Washington had a "special responsibility" toward the global economy.

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia's deputy leader Tuesday called for an end to political squabbles in the country, urging the people to unite to face the global financial crisis that he said could derail the country's growth.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said the government may have to cut its growth expectations this year "if there is more bad news out of the U.S. and if the current situation leads to a significant downturn."

"Malaysians need to remain united and cohesive as the country prepares to face the global financial economic challenge," Najib, who is also finance minister, told reporters.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian stock indexes sank Tuesday despite the federal market regulator ordering a two-hour trading halt in anticipation of massive fallout from the rejection of a bank bailout in the U.S. Congress.

The ruble-denominated MICEX exchange — which fell 1 percent in 15 minutes of trading before the suspension — fell sharply after reopening at 12:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m. EDT).

Forty minutes later, it had dropped 6.9 percent from the previous day's close.

The dollar-denominated RTS — which first opened for trading only at 12:30 p.m. — sank by 2.9 percent.

Russia's stock market, which earlier this year was one of the world's most robust and lucrative, has been in a steep decline for weeks, reflecting not only the turmoil in international markets but fears sparked by Russia's August war with Georgia.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwanese shares fell sharply Tuesday morning in reaction to the failure of U.S. lawmakers to pass a financial bailout plan aimed at stabilizing the U.S. financial system. The weighted price index of the Taiwan Stock market fell 6.14 percent shortly after trading began, closing down 3.55 percent.

PARIS (AP) — Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer struck a reassuring tone Tuesday about the ongoing financial crisis, calling for calm before a meeting of the country's top bankers with President Nicolas Sarkozy.

In an interview on radio station RTL, Noyer said "we are having difficulties, but we must have total confidence in the safety of the French banking system. In these circumstances we must keep a cool head and reason objectively. We must stop collectively frightening ourselves."

France's banks "have been touched by the crisis on financial markets ... but (French banks) are not overloaded with bad assets like a certain number of American banks were," Noyer said. "Fundamentally, they are solid."

Asked about the failure of U.S. legislators to pass a $700 billion bailout bill Monday, Noyer said it was "bad news," and added that "the Americans don't have a choice, they must absolutely have a global plan."

TOKYO (AP) — All major stock markets in the region succumbed to heightened fears of a broader global financial crisis, though they managed to trim some losses during afternoon trading. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index slumped 4.1 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index closed in positive territory after earlier plunging more than 5 percent.

TOKYO (AP) — Asia was shaken Tuesday by the collapse of the U.S. financial bailout effort.

"The outcome has caused a major impact not only the U.S. economy but also the world economy," said Japan's Economy and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano, urging Washington to renegotiate a workable package.

The bailout plan is aimed at preventing a possible collapse in the U.S. financial system, which would have dramatic repercussions for Asia and the entire global economy.

The Bank of Japan, which has been adding liquidity to the system since the collapse of U.S. brokerage Lehman Brothers earlier this month, pumped another $28.7 billion into money markets. Since Sept. 15, the BOJ has injected $200 billion into the market.

Hong Kong's de facto central bank called for calm while highlighting the gravity of the situation.

Taiwan Premier Liu Chao-shiuan also expressed pessimism about the prospects for his region's shares.

"There is no means that we can adopt to remedy the situation immediately," Liu said. "I don't think there is anyone in this world who can do that, and right now we can only try to minimize our losses."

DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) — Ireland has announced a sweeping guarantee of all deposits in the country's banks in a bid to stop an unprecedented stock-market run against the Irish financial sector.

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — The Belgian government says it is putting up $9.18 billion to bail out Dexia bank. Dexia, a French-Belgian specialist in lending to local governments that ran up huge losses in its U.S. operations, closed nearly 30 percent lower Monday — causing the Belgian government to promise it would stand by the bank if needed.

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Share prices in Australia and New Zealand plunged Tuesday after U.S. lawmakers voted against a huge government bailout for the American financial system. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd urged U.S. lawmakers to urgently return to negotiations to come up with a deal that will prevent further infection of world markets.

Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX-200 index fell more than 5.3 percent within half an hour of the opening of trading on Tuesday. By early afternoon, it had rebounded slightly and was down 3.7 percent. New Zealand shares closed Tuesday down 3.1 percent after initially plunging 4.7 percent in early trading.

"The attitude that we will adopt, and I believe other friends and allies of the United States will adopt, is to urge the United States Congress to pass this or a similar measure when it is re-presented to the Congress later this week," Rudd said.

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) — Latin American stocks plunged and shares of key Brazilian companies suffered their steepest losses in nearly a decade on Monday after U.S. lawmakers rejected a $700 billion bailout package meant to reboot the global economy.

Trading was automatically halted for 30 minutes after Sao Paulo's Ibovespa crossed the 10 percent loss threshold. ... It was the index's worst one-day slump since falling 10 percent on Jan. 14, 1999, the last time trading was halted.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva lashed out against excesses by U.S. and European bankers that he said could scuttle economic advances made by developing nations in recent years.

"We can't be turned into victims of the casino erected by the American economy," Silva said. "It's not fair for Latin American, African and Asian countries to pay for the irresponsibility of sectors of the American financial system."

In Argentina, Buenos Aires' Merval index dropped 8.7 percent at close, while Mexico's main index slipped 6.4 percent. Chile's Ipsa index closed down 5.5 percent, and Colombia's dipped 2.4 percent.

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim described the current financial crisis as "the worst I have known in all of my life, and the most complex since 1929," when stock markets plunged, triggering the Great Depression.

"It's obviously bigger, because we are talking about an economy that is a lot bigger," said Slim,

"Brazil is taking the biggest hit because it has the largest amount of foreign investors and the biggest and most liquid market," said Enrique Alvarez, head of research for Latin American financial markets at IDEAglobal in New York.

But he also warned that Mexico and Colombia could be seriously affected, given their close political, economic and trade ties to the U.S.

"We're going to continue seeing high volatility," added Juan Ignacio Di Santo, an analyst at the Buenos Aires-based brokerage Puente Hermanos. "The contagion is across the board."

LONDON (AP) — European governments announced a flurry of bank bailouts from Germany to Iceland, but the rescue deals only heightened fears that the contagion from the U.S. credit crisis has much further to spread before the financial system recovers.

European shares fell heavily Monday and money markets remained frozen with banks refusing to lend to each other for all but the shortest periods.

The governments of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg took partial control late Sunday of struggling bank Fortis NV, while Britain seized control of mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley early Monday.

Germany organized a credit lifeline for blue-chip commercial real estate lender Hypo Real Estate Holding AG, while Iceland's government took over Glitnir bank, the country's third largest.

Additionally, the European Central Bank joined with the U.S. Federal Reserve in doubling the credit swap line that makes dollars available to cash-hungry banks from $120 billion to $240 billion. The Bank of England doubled dollar availability to $80 billion, while other central banks offered smaller amounts.

TORONTO (AP) — Canada's main stock exchange plunged more than 840 points, or almost 7 percent, recording one of the biggest one-day drops in its history.... The exchange is heavily weighted with oil and commodity stocks.

DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) — The Irish Stock Exchange suffered its worst fall in history Monday, shedding 12.7 percent of its value amid continued global anxiety about the solvency of banks.

The 481-point drop to 3,304 shattered the previous worst day in Irish trading: Oct. 28, 1987, when the Dublin market fell 8.8 percent in the wake of Black Monday.

Ireland's market has been among the worst performers in Europe over the past year because it is heavily weighted in favor of financial stocks. As of Monday the index had lost 72 percent of its value since reaching its record high 17 months ago.

Ireland's financial sector has yet to suffer the kind of government bailouts or fire-sale takeovers experienced in Britain and the United States, its major two trading partners. But analysts said the plummeting value of Irish banks was raising fears about growing bad loans in their own books, and could make any of them a takeover target.

LONDON (AP) — Share prices on the London Stock Exchange plummeted on Monday, closing 5.3 percent lower.

MARSEILLE, France (AP) — With Wall Street's future uncertain, the leaders of India and the European Union say it's time for major economies to get together and start redesigning the world financial system.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy — whose country holds the rotating EU presidency — and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday pushed for a summit of leaders of major economic powers to coordinate a response to the global financial crisis.

During an EU-India summit, Sarkozy said the talks would aim to "put in place the foundations of a new international financial system."

"India is clearly conscious that it risks being affected by the crisis which began in the United States," said Sarkozy. He also welcomed U.S. government and congressional efforts to stem the crisis.

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — The Icelandic government said Monday that it has taken control of the struggling Glitnir bank, marking the first major banking nationalization for the country in the current turmoil.

Central Bank of Iceland chairman David Oddsson said that Glitnir, which has operations in 10 countries, would have collapsed if the authorities had not intervened.

MOSCOW (AP) — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin pledged up to $50 billion in loans Monday to help Russian banks and corporations pay off foreign debts — the latest move by government officials to head off a looming financial crisis.

An estimated $45 billion in international loans are believed to be coming due for Russian companies and banks by the end of the year and fears have grown that the battered Russian banking sector could begin to fall apart.

The global credit crunch has all but cut off access to foreign lending for some companies, while bigger entities face costly refinancing of their debt.

Russian stock exchanges suffered their most tumultuous run in a decade earlier this month, plunging 25 percent in just three days on the back of falling oil prices and turmoil in the United States.

The markets slid downward again Monday, as the MICEX fell 5.5 percent by close of day, while the RTS shed 7.1 percent.

Events in Europe "clearly have a psychological effect," said Natalya Orlova, chief economist at Moscow-based Alfa Bank.

In line with governments and central banks around the world, the Russian government earlier stepped in with a wide-ranging $120 billion rescue package to banks and the stock markets.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve took dead aim at the financial meltdown that roared into Europe on Monday, doubling to $240 billion the amount of dollars available for cash-hungry banks.

The Fed and the ECB — the central bank for the 15 countries that use the euro — said in a statement that they would raise their temporary reciprocal currency arrangements, or swap lines ... as part of a worldwide move that included central banks in Japan, Canada, the Nordic countries and Australia.

All of the swap arrangements end April 30, 2009, the statements said.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — Sweden's Nordea AB and Denmark's Spar Nord Bank and Arbejdernes Landsbank will buy 21 branches of troubled Roskilde Bank for $108 million, they said Monday.

The Danish central bank took over Roskilde Bank in August after the turmoil on global financial markets and falling house prices in Denmark had forced it to take write-downs of up to $176 million on property development loans.

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — The European Commission said Monday it will not bend the rules when it judges huge capital injections by governments into European banks and other institutions that are suffering the backlash of the U.S. financial meltdown.

The European Commission will apply EU subsidies and fair play rules for businesses "quickly and responsibly," EU spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said.

MUMBAI, India (AP) — Indian shares slid sharply Monday amid concerns the U.S. financial crisis will deepen and as foreign investors continued to pull money out of Indian equities.

India's benchmark Sensex index plunged 3.87 percent, recovering slightly from midday losses of 4.2 percent.

"The nervousness and the impact of foreign investors pulling out have devastated confidence in the market," said Dhirendra Kumar, CEO of Value Research, an independent research house based in New Delhi. "The direction of money flow has been reversed and it is likely to remain like that for a while."

PARIS (AP) — French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet Tuesday with the heads of major French banks and insurance companies to review the state of France's financial institutions, his office said.

LONDON (AP) — British government confirms bailout of mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley.