Mounting concerns that the U.S. economy is slipping into a recession and that financial companies will report more write-downs depressed stocks in Europe and the United States on Friday.

Economic growth faces the additional threat of the Euro’s gains to an all-time high against the dollar reports the International Herald Tribune.

U.S. consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the country’s gross domestic product, was flat in January for the second month in a row, when adjusted for inflation, the Commerce Department said. Other reports showed a decline in consumer confidence and diminished business activity in the U.S. heartland, the Midwest.

On an absolute level, Americans spent more last month, as spending outlays increased 0.4 percent after rising 0.3 percent in December.

But the products they bought were more expensive, too. Prices are rising rapidly; in January, they were up 3.7 percent in January compared with those a year ago, the fastest rate of growth in more than two years.

Read it here: Concern about U.S. economy weighs on stocks in Europe and on Wall Street