The New Zealand stock market plunged throughout Thursday, with its benchmark index of top 50 shares falling 3.6 per cent by mid afternoon.
The NZX 50 fell 114 points to 3,155 with prices across the board tumbling and wiping 1.3 billion New Zealand dollars (about 858 million US dollars) off the value of leading shares.
The three biggest listed companies were all down significantly, with the market leader Telecom falling 3.2 per cent to 2.72 New Zealand dollars and hitting a 15-year low at one stage.
Fletcher Building fell 3 cents to 6.97 New Zealand dollars and Contact Energy dropped 19 cents to 8.57 New Zealand dollars. The New Zealand stock market had rallied to rise by 1.3 per cent on Wednesday after recording its biggest fall in six years a day earlier, but analysts said it was reacting predictably to big overnight falls on Wall Street.
German exports plunged in November to record the biggest fall in nearly two decades, data released Thursday showed, as the deepening world economic downturn hits Europe's biggest economy.
When the Spirit rover landed on Mars five years ago, no one expected it or its sister rover Opportunity to make it to their first birthdays, let alone their fifth.
The San Antonio Spurs turned up their trademark defense down the stretch to turn back another opponent. 
US singer and Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson, 27, dominated the nominations for the 40th NAACP Image Awards.
After the Taipei Zoo received two giant pandas from China, another Taiwan zoo said Friday it is seeking to receive a pair of pandas from China.