Japan crisis puts world financial markets on edge

NEW YORK (AP) — Fears over the escalating nuclear crisis in Japan overtook financial markets around the globe Tuesday, pushing stocks and other investments lower. The Japanese stock market lost 10 percent of its value, and Wall Street dropped steeply before bouncing back.

The Japanese Nikkei average fell to its lowest level in nearly two years after the country's prime minister said four crippled reactors at a nuclear power plant on the country's devastated coast were leaking dangerous amounts of radiation.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average fell almost 300 points at the opening bell. The futures market, which can indicate how stocks will perform, looked so ugly …