European stocks tumble

Fears of a Greek default and credit contagion ripped through markets, tumbling European shares to their lowest in more than two years and the euro to a seven-month low against the US dollar.Concerns that Moodys Investors Service could downgrade the credit-worthiness of French banks and the lack of a solution to Greece’s debt problem undermined investor confidence and the appetite for risk.Adding to the gloom was the failure of a weekend meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrialised nations to generate fresh proposals for boosting global growth.The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top shares fell 3.2 percent, after earlier slumping to 883.04, its lowest since July 2009. The index has lost more than 20 percent in 2011.Global central bankers meeting in Basel, Switzerland said economic growth is slowing but there is no sign of a worldwide recession and they had no plans for concerted action.