European markets fall on growth fears

14.50 By the way, if you want to know more about Jim Yong Kim, we have put together a profile as well as five facts about the man himself. 14.30 US markets have joined the downward trend today: The S&P 500 is trading down0.2pc at 1,390 points, while the Dow Jones is also off 0.2pc at 13,026. In Europe, the FTSE 100 is down 0.4pc at 13,035, the CAC is off 0.9pc in Paris and the DAX is down 0.8pc in Germany. 14.00 Ah, the perils of the internet - here it seems is Jim Yong Kim, expected to be the next head of the World Bank, taking part in a singing compeition at Dartmouth College, of which he is currently the president. 13.45 The average price of petrol in the UK has gone past 140p a litre for the first time, according to the AA. Not good news for motorists - and adds fuel (sorry) to the critics of this week\'s Budget who wanted the Chancellor to scrap the rise in fuel duty coming in August, or even cut the tax. Petrol prices have now risen more than 2.75p a litre in just three weeks, while the cost was only 132.25p a litre at the beginning of the year, the AA said. 13.20 The US nomination for the next leader of the World Bank must be in today - and it is now being reported that President Obama has made a surprise pick, and plans to put forward Jim Yong Kim, who is president of Dartmouth College in the US at present. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had long been among the most circulated names rumored to be under consideration by President Barack Obama, along with US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, Democratic Senator John Kerry and former Treasury secretary Larry Summers. The post has traditionally been held by an American, while the leadership of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) goes to a European. However a former Colombian finance minister and central bank chief, Jose Antonio Ocampo, and Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala are also reported to be in the running for the World Bank job. 12.20 Greek bonds! It feels an age since we mentioned Greek bonds - but they\'re making waves this morning. Greece\'s newly-restructured bonds have suffered their worst trading day to date, with yields on the 10-year bond rising by more than a full percentage point to top 20pc. 11.55 Apologies we\'re a bit late with this - but France has raised its growth forecast for this year. Late last night, the government said it was increasing its estimate for growth in 2012 to 0.7pc, up from 0.5pc. France will also avoid going into recession this year, the statistics office Insee said. Why hide your light under a bushel, France? Announce good news first thing in the morning to catch everyone\'s attention! 11.45 Time for a shares update - European markets are trading lower after a positive start to the day: The FTSE 100 is down 0.3pc at 5,831 points, while the CAC is off 0.6pc in Paris and the German DAX is down 0.4pc. 11.20 While Spanish and Italian bond yields come under pressure, the real shaky peg in the eurozone at the moment is Portugal. Having already received one EU-IMF bailout, it is coming under intense scrutiny from investors trying to assess whether, like Greece, it will need another handout to manage its debts. Bloomberg is reporting today that the country\'s municipal authorities face defaulting on around €9bn of debt if the central government does not step up with more funds. Fernando Ruas, president of the nation’s association of municipalities, told Bloomberg: Quote At a company we call it insolvency. IIt could happen that some town halls could have to restructure their debt if the government doesn’t intervene. But does the Government have the funds to intervene? It is already making massive cuts, which led to a general strike yesterday (see below).