Global stock market meltdown as fears grow US economy will 'collapse'

"Shares across the world tumbled Friday - as investors panicked over signs of weakness in the U.S. economy.... the US economy is spluttering. That report sent the S&P 500, Nasdaq and the Dow Jones down in pre-market trading - after they had also sunk the day before.

As well as the huge drop in Japan, stock markets were battered in Europe. The declines followed a retreat on Wall Street after weak manufacturing data raised worries the Federal Reserve may have waited too long to cut interest rates, raising risks of a recession.
After the U.S. central bank held steady at a meeting this week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said a cut could come in September. Worry is mounting that the Fed has kept its main interest rate at a two-decade high for too long in its zeal to stifle inflation by making it more costly to borrow. A rate cut could take months to a year to filter through the economy."
MS