Asia's bull run ends in 2008 with record falls

HONG KONG (AP) - From Tokyo to Mumbai, Asian stocks plunged by record amounts this year as the region's powerhouse economies lost steam and foreign investors pulled billions of dollars from its once-booming markets.

Dizzying losses felt around the world were all the more painful in Asia, whose stocks had long been seen as a safe haven from financial turmoil in the West - another myth that burst along with the housing, credit and commodities bubbles in the global crisis of 2008.