US shares have fallen sharply on concerns about the government’s latest attempts to shore up the banks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 250.9 points, or 3.41%, at 7,114.8, its lowest since October 1997.

But shares in the banks themselves rose sharply, with Citigroup up nearly 10% and Bank of America rising over 3%.

The US government reiterated its determination to keep banks operating, but added it wanted the banks themselves to stay in private hands.

There had earlier been reports that the government was planning to take a bigger stake in Citigroup and could even nationalise it.

"People left and right are throwing in the towel," said Keith Springer from Capital Financial Advisory Services.

"The biggest thing I see here is the incredible pessimism - the government is doing a lousy job of alleviating fears."

Technology shares also fell on reports that a reorganisation is planned at Yahoo.

The technology-based Nasdaq index fell 53.5 points, or 3.71%, to close at 1,387.7.

The falls pick up from a tough week last week, when all the major indices fell by more than 6%.

Earlier in the day, the FTSE 100 in London closed down 1%, the Cac 40 in Paris fell 0.8% and the Dax in Frankfurt fell 2% to close below 4,000 points for the first time since 2004.

One of the most commonly asked questions regarding search engine optimization is: “What is the best way to learn SEO”？I suggest you can learn seo by well written ebooks. let me explain my answer to you.

 Remember when you were in grade school, middle school, high school and/or college were you ever just given a CD, video, two-day workshop or other similar methods to learn a subject? No, I will guess that you learned primarily from books or material derived from a book presented by an instructor.

On this note, a well-written SEO book, by an author, that presents the material as if he or she is talking to you can be the substitute for an instructor; but you will still need to read the book and apply what you learn. This has been a time-tested method of learning for hundreds of years around the world. The method will not fail you; however, you can fail the method.

You can determine the SEO book to purchase and read by carefully reviewing the promotional material for the SEO book, reading objective book reviews regarding the SEO book, comparing the prices of the various SEO books, making sure that you purchase a book that is written to actually teach SEO services and finally purchase an SEO book that provides a money back guarantee in case the book does not meet your expectations.

However, remember that you should never take advantage of a money back guarantee. The author worked hard to write the book. If you actually benefited from reading the book or ebook, don’t ask for a refund just because you do not want to pay for the book. Always remember that what comes around goes around. Treat people fair and be honest in your dealings with others.