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European shares fall as Bankia is battered
European shares extended their losing streak on Thursday as worries over Spanish lender Bankia caused its shares to fall more than 20 percent, hitting markets and adding to growing fears of contagion from Greece's economic crisis. The pan-European FTSE 300 index was down 0.9 percent at 984.22 points by 1026 GMT, close to a 4-1/2 month low of 983.95 points reached on Wednesday. Spain's benchmark IBEX index fell nearly 2 percent to its lowest level since mid-2003, as shares in Bankia slumped following a report in the El Mundo newspaper that its customers had withdrawn more than 1 billion euros from their accounts over ... (full story)