Oct. 10--Banking and insurance shares, oil and commodities crashed around the world today amid fears for the global economy. The oil price crashed more than $4 a barrel as investors bet that big energy consuming nations would be reining in their usage.

Trading in bank shares in the opening minutes in London was temporarily frozen in the rush to sell. Shares in HBOS, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Lloyds TSB all fell between 13 percent and 25 percent as trading resumed.

On the continent, insurance giants Allianz, Axa and Swiss Life crashed 10 percent, while UBS, Credit Suisse and Abbey owner Santander tumbled 6 percent, 9 percent and 7 percent respectively.

Oil was set to post its biggest weekly price slump since December 2004.

After initially crashing more than $4, London Brent crude later settled down $3.35 a barrel at $79.29. New York crude tumbled $4.59 a barrel to $82 before a modest rally took it to $82.55.

Other commodities like copper, nickel, zinc and aluminium all fell heavily. copper tumbled 9 percent to $4830 a metric ton on the London Metal exchange.

"It's worrying," said David Moore, commodity strategist at commonwealth Bank of Sydney.

"Equity markets are falling dramatically, the credit crisis is spreading and the outlook remains poor."

Tellingly, the only major commodity that gained was gold, which surged $14.65 an ounce to $927.90. Investors traditionally flee into gold as a safe place to invest in times of financial and economic peril.

"The macro environment has become positive for gold once again," said Barclays capital's advice note to clients.

The worldwide financial crisis took its first victim in Japan today as Yamato Life Insurance collapsed owing $2.7 billion, having made big investments in hedge funds and property investment trusts.

"This is panic. New York, the currencies -- there's nothing left for us to trust," said Takashi Ushio, head of investment strategy at Marusan Securities."

Nomura Trust and Banking foreign exchange trader Hideki Amikura said: "The news of Yamato Life was totally unexpected, sending shivers through the spine of many of us."

IT IS hard not to feel sympathy for the growing number of retailers who have been forced to admit in public that their suppliers can no longer get credit insurance for the goods they deliver into the stores. The interpretation put on such news by a jittery market is that this must inevitably mean the retailer concerned is in financial difficulties.

Some might be but not all. It is what insurance companies do. When there is no risk of default they will happily insure everyone. When the economy is obviously turning down and the chances of them having to pay out increase, they naturally cut back as much as they can. It is the same in every recession.

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