World on brink of double-dip recession, warns Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley has warned the global economy is on the brink of recession as the US investment bank slashed its growth forecasts.

Stoking fears of the dreaded double dip, the banking giant said the world's economy is "dangerously close to a recession" and cut its global growth forecast for this year from 4.2% to 3.9%, according to the Guardian.

In addition, it cut it growth forecast for 2012 from 4.5% to 3.8%, with developed market economies expected to grow by just 1.5% this year and next.

Global recessionary fears have heightened recently amid S&P's downgrade of the US and an escalation of euro debt concerns - factors which drove global markets into free-fall earlier this month.

A recession is defined as two or more consecutive quarters of negative growth.

Stock markets appear to have taken fright from Morgan Stanley's warning, with all major European indices trading in negative territory this morning.

At 11am London's FTSE was down 2.2%, Germany's Dax was 4% in the red and France's Cac 40 was down 3.3%.