Hello traders!

In the US tonight, the Dow was up 133.23 points at 13,424.88, while the S&P500
gained 12.39 points at 1,483.95 and the Nasdaq Composite was 8.99 points
higher at 2,601.06.

See you in the morning with the latest.......

G.

Morning all. Market reports:

Telegraph
The Times
The Times (Need to know)
FT
The Guardian
The Independent
This is Money

The Bank of England moved yesterday to inject extra funds into Londons short-term money markets, making good on its pledge last week to take new action to reduce financial stresses from the worldwide credit squeeze.

Bank pumps 4.4bn into money markets to ease credit squeeze

Shares in Northern Rock will plunge today with the company expected to issue a profits warning and confirm that it has been forced to turn to the Bank of England for emergency financial support.

Northern Rock in cash SOS to Bank

Goldman Sachs' high-profile alternative investments business appears to be in further trouble after it emerged that its Global Alpha hedge fund lost 22.5pc of its value last month.

Global Alpha plummets 22.5pc in one month

The price of crude oil may have fallen back yesterday after breaking the $80 (39.36) mark, but now that this psychological barrier has been breached, traders are speculating about when it will hit $90. Analysts at investment bank Goldman Sachs predicted yesterday that $95 was a real possibility, while other industry experts forecast $100-plus within three to five years.

Crude oil gushing to the $90 milestone

NIKKEI	AUSTRALIA	SHANGHAI	HANG SENG

Good morning traders!

In Asia today, the Hang Seng ended the morning up 357.38 points at 24,894.4,
while the Nikkei was recently ahead 253.77 points at 16,074.96.

New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for October delivery, dropped 30
cents to $79.79 a barrel from its record close of $80.09 in late US trades Thursday.

Happy Friday!

G.

Thomson Financial Europe AM at a glance share guide: Shares up, oil mixedTFN economic and business calendar

TFN UK calendar and forecasts for today

The Friday Press Roundup

London shares outlook - down; Northern Rock given emergency funding by BoE

Thomson Financial UK at a glance share guide

BROKERWATCH Wolseley lowered to 'underperform' from 'neutral' at Credit Suisse

Tokyo shares close sharply higher; index above 16,000 points on softer yen

STOCKWATCH Northern Rock seen down 15-20 pct on BOE assistance news

BROKERWATCH Reed Elsevier raised to 'buy' vs 'neutral' at Merrill Lynch

STOCKWATCH UK banking stocks seen under pressure on Northern Rock news

Good morning all

IOS 25 - 25.5p +0.25p

Already up on the bid
The cup and Handle is working with the higher volume

am vol

STOCKWATCH Bayer higher, outperforms mkt on bullish note from Bear Stearns

UK smallcap opening - Dwyka gains on Investors Chronicle tipAustralian shares close higher, Macquarie Bank in focus

BROKERWATCH Fortis in focus as analysts mull remedies filed to EU

Australian shares close higher, Macquarie Bank in focus - UPDATETokyo shares close higher, Nikkei tops 16,000 on softer yen - UPDATE

UK smallcap opening - ServicePower Tech climbs on contract win

UK smallcap opening - Crosby Capital down amid assets deal uncertainty fearsLondon shares open lower; Northern Rock falls on BoE assistance news

STOCKWATCH Paragon sharply lower on Northern Rock warning, KBC keeps at 'reduce'STOCKWATCH Legal & General easier; Panmure Gordon cuts to 'hold' from 'buy'

STOCKWATCH Ladbrokes lower as Landsbanki cuts to 'hold' from 'buy', target 440pUK smallcap opening - Servoca stays high on acquisition prospect

STOCKWATCH UK banking stocks slump following Northern Rock profit warning

STOCKWATCH Bayer higher, on bullish note from Bear Stearns UPDATE

Metals - LME inventory data (Friday)

UK small caps open lower; 2waytraffic biggest faller on TV probe link

CORRECTION Metals - LME inventory data (Friday)

Metals - Gold eases from highs on profit taking, pressured by firmer dollar

STOCKWATCH Italian banks lower on Northern Rock worries

London shares - midmorning features

Midday Market Roundup

from the "UPS" thread ..........

IOS 27 - 28p +2.50p

Further move up on the BID and now ready for the BREAKOUT on going over 27.50p the highest price ( AXIS )last time before starting the Handle.

STOCKWATCH Capgemini drops more than 5 pct on talk of profit warning UPDATESTOCKWATCH DnB NOR outperforms as Credit Suisse hikes to 'outperform'STOCKWATCH Northern Rock plunges after BoE aid; under review at Merrill LynchRPT FOCUS Northern Rock bail-out signals choppy times ahead for UK economyFOCUS Neutral ABN Amro stance on rival bids would meet market expectations

WALL STREET OUTLOOK Lower open seen on weak retail sales, credit concerns UPDATE

Metals - Gold a touch higher after weak US data dents dollar

London shares - midafternoon features

OUTLOOK UK data over coming week likely to be overshadowed by credit woes

Metals - Gold hits fresh 16 month highs as dollar falls on weak US dataPrecious Metals Summary - London PM Fixing

OUTLOOK Kingfisher H1 pretax profit seen up 3 pct

FOCUS Northern Rock's woes unlikely to spread to other mortgage lendersTFN economic and business calendar to Friday Sept 28

End-of-day Market Roundup

Hope you all have a peaceful weekend...

G.

Metals - Copper turns higher after mixed US economic dataUK small caps close sharply lower; 2waytraffic hit by TV probe

Precious Metals Summary - London Close

Evening all - not a good day for longs today especially Banks. I wonder how things will be like in the next 1 or 2 months?

Colder, and we'll be panicking about $100 oil while trying to remember what the last crisis was about a couple of months ago - something to do with banks? Meanwhile the Northern Rock's signs will be disappearing from the high street as the new owner's logos are raised into place.

After which there's the house price collapse to worry about, and war with Iran, though everyone will be watching the next series of Big Brother so it doesn't matter.

Friday's market reports:

Telegraph
The Times
The Times (Need to know)
FT
The Guardian
The Independent
This is Money

American investment bank Merrill Lynch became the latest potential casualty of the global credit crunch as it warned it has been forced to adjust the value of a series of securities linked to risky products.

Merrill Lynch, making the statement less than a month before it releases its financial results in October, said the volatility in products such as sub-prime mortgages, collateralised debt obligations and other structured credit products had not been helpful in the third-quarter.

Merrill Lynch downgrades values of 'risky' securities

Banks have suspended quoting prices in a key debt market used by Northern Rock and other mortgage lenders.

Banks stop quoting on covered bonds

House prices have seen their biggest monthly fall in five years as turmoil in the world's financial system unnerved both buyers and sellers, according to property website Rightmove.

Turmoil drives down prices

The growing US focus on confronting Iran in a proxy war inside Iraq risks triggering a direct conflict in the next few months, regional analysts are warning.

US-Iranian tensions have mounted significantly in the past few days, with heightened rhetoric on both sides and the US decision to establish a military base in Iraq less than five miles from the Iranian border to block the smuggling of Iranian arms to Shia militias.

Proxy war could soon turn to direct conflict, analysts warn

Senior American intelligence and defence officials believe that President George W Bush and his inner circle are taking steps to place America on the path to war with Iran, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt. In a chilling scenario of how war might come, a senior intelligence officer warned that public denunciation of Iranian meddling in Iraq - arming and training militants - would lead to cross border raids on Iranian training camps and bomb factories.

Under the theory - which is gaining credence in Washington security circles - US action would provoke a major Iranian response, perhaps in the form of moves to cut off Gulf oil supplies, providing a trigger for air strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities and even its armed forces.

Bush setting America up for war with Iran

Mystery surrounds last week's air foray into Syrian territory. The Observer's Foreign Affairs Editor attempts to unravel the truth behind Operation Orchard and allegations of nuclear subterfuge.

Was Israeli raid a dry run for attack on Iran?

Oil barons like to think they've seen everything, but last week the dvu was positively spooky. Ten years ago, ministers of Opec, the oil price cartel, congregated in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta to discuss whether to pump more crude. With prices trading at $20 a barrel and China beginning to demand more oil, Saudi Arabia persuaded other members to boost production by 10 per cent.

Is the $100 barrel on its way?

Lord Oxburgh, the former chairman of Shell, has issued a stark warning that the price of oil could hit $150 per barrel, with oil production peaking within the next 20 years.

Oil industry 'sleepwalking into crisis'

One of the world's most senior accountants has warned Wall Street's major investment banks to stick to the rules when they report their third quarter results this week. Questions have been mounting over how the banks will handle exposures to sub-prime investments and structured credit funds that have been hammered by the global liquidity squeeze. Although the banks are obliged to price these instruments in their books at fair market value, there is currently no trade in many of these assets. Banking sources fear that if the figures are smaller than the market expects, investors will assume that the figures have been fudged - prompting a new wave of fear in global markets. If huge trading losses are exposed, the effect could be equally profound.

Banks told to play straight with books

ONE of the worlds biggest fund managers is to launch a 100m hedge fund that will buy up farmland across Britain to profit from booming food prices.

City piles into farm funds