Stocks fell around the world, the euro sank to a 20-month low against the dollar and oil retreated as the deepening economic slump sapped corporate profit.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc dropped 9 percent and the pound tumbled to a five-year low after Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said the country probably is in a recession.

BHP Billiton Ltd, the world's largest mining company, slipped more than 7 percent.