U.S. Stocks Are Sunk by Europe Fears -- Germany Pushes Back on Stimulus Efforts --- Stocks tumbled on escalating concerns about global growth prospects, especially in Europe, as new data showed deepening stresses in the continent’s economy and remarks from a leading policy maker highlighted the lack of consensus in dealing with the slowdown. -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid nearly 273 points, or 1.6%, its worst daily decline since July and fourth-biggest point drop of the year. The slump in U.S. share prices followed big losses in German, French and U.K. stock markets. -- Nervous investors headed to safe-haven government bonds and drove up the value of the yen, which often rises in times of market turmoil. The dollar, which has been on a three-month tear, fell. -- The yen continued to strengthen early Wednesday in Asia, with stocks plunging in response to overseas markets. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.5% in early trading. -- Although investors say they remain broadly confident that the U.S. economy is on a relatively healthy growth path, many have expressed worries about the renewed slowdown in Europe at a time when Japan’s economy remains troubled and China’s is also showing slower growth. -- Europe’s biggest economies appear to be sliding into a new phase of stagnation, and disagreements among policy makers about how to stop the slide seem to be proliferating. --- France, Italy and other countries in recent months have urged the European Central Bank to do more to stimulate growth. But in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, German Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann stressed the Bundesbank’s opposition to the ECB’s latest decision to buy private-sector bonds. He also offered a host of reasons why he would oppose purchases of government bonds to increase the money supply. Those reasons included ECB rules prohibiting the central bank from financing governments and his skepticism that such a program would help the economy given that borrowing costs are already low. - Read More, WSJ, http://online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-stocks-are-sunk-by-europe-fears-1412724610