Hello traders!

In the US tonight, the Dow was last up 44.06 points at 13,517.96, while the
S&P500 gained 1.85 points at 1,488.44 and the Nasdaq Composite was off 2.65
points at 2,668.49.

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's chief markets expert has said he and his international counterparts are attempting to protect Britain from a "vicious circle" in which the credit crisis causes a major economic slump.
Banks' $100bn rescue may not be enough

Experts issued a major warning to the UK on the possibility of inflation bubbling over in the economy after fresh figures showed that households' expectations for inflation have jumped to the highest level on record.
Fear of inflation at highest level on record

Investment bank Lehman Brothers continues to insulate itself from the worst of the sub-prime crisis, using hedging to cut its liabilities.
Hedging helps Lehman limit writedowns

Blackstone, the US private equity giant, emerged yesterday as the first major Wall Street buyer of the toxic debt that triggered this summer?s credit crisis. The group said it had just raised a $1.3 billion (£600 million) fund to invest in a range of debt securities including collateralised debt obligations (CDOs), bonds that are backed by mortgages.
Blackstone puts up $1.3bn to buy fallout from the credit crisis

NIKKEI	AUSTRALIA	SHANGHAI	HANG SENG

OUTLOOK Partygaming set for 'solid' trading updateOUTLOOK Centrica to warn of New Year gas & electricity price rises - brokersTFN economic and business calendarThomson Financial Europe AM at a glance share guide: stocks, oil mixed

Good morning traders!

In Asia today, the Nikkei was recently down 22.01 points at 15,514.51, while the
Hang Seng reached the midpoint off 271.16 points at 27,473.29.

New York\'s main oil contract, light sweet crude for January delivery, was 32 cents
higher at $92.57 a barrel.

Happy Friday!

G.

TFN UK calendar and forecasts for today

BROKERWATCH HBOS downgraded to 'hold' vs 'buy' at Citigroup, target cut to 750pLondon shares outlook - higher, rallying from lows yesterday after Dow gains

Tokyo shares close lower after Tankan shows drop in business confidence - UPDATEThomson Financial UK at a glance share guide

CORRECTION Tokyo shares close lower after business confidence drops - UPDATE

First Day of Dealings

BROKERWATCH Mining sector downgraded to 'neutral' by Goldman SachsUK smallcap opening - Burst Media slides on FY profits warning

STOCKWATCH Centrica edged lower post update; remains 'hold' at Goldman Sachs

UK smallcap opening - Trakm8 runs back on swing to H1 lossesUK smallcap opening - Wolfson Micro drop as Goldman downgradesLondon shares open higher, rallying from lows yesterday after Dow gainsUK smallcap opening - Diamondtech off after production update

BROKERWATCH Rentokil upped to \'outperform\' by Exane; target price cut to 160pSTOCKWATCH Dermoestetica soars on talk 3i to announce bid at 10 eur/shrCORRECTION STOCKWATCH Centrica edged lower; kept \'neutral\' at Goldman SachsUK smallcap opening - Kiln up on agreed Tokio Marine bid

UK smallcap opening - Latitude Resources gains on swing to FY profit

BROKERWATCH Tatneft cut to 'sell' from 'buy' at UBS, target 3.97 usdRPT UK smallcap opening - Latitude Resources gains on swing to FY profit

BROKERWATCH TNK-BP cut to \'neutral\' from \'buy\' at UBS, target 2.44 usd

BROKERWATCH Rentokil upped to 'buy' from 'add' at Evolution Securities UPDATEUK small caps open higher; Kiln jumps on agreed Tokio Marine bidLondon shares open higher, rallying from lows yesterday after Dow gains UPDATE

STOCKWATCH Xchanging higher as sees in-line FY; Panmure Gordon stays 'buy'Metals - Gold prices stabilise near 800 usd after falling on firmer dollar

STOCKWATCH Peter Hambro lower following JORC resource statement

STOCKWATCH BAE Systems up slightly as HSBC ups price target to 510p vs 455p

BROKERWATCH Bayer, AKZO, Linde and Syngenta targets upped by Deutsche Bank

Metals - Copper recovers amid gains in other mkts; outlook still negative

CORRECTION BROKERWATCH Bayer, Linde and Syngenta targets upped by Deutsche Bank

Metals - Gold prices stabilise near 800 usd after drop on firmer dollar UPDATE

London shares - mid-morning features

Metals - Copper steadies as gains in other markets offset demand woes

US futures lower ahead of CPI data

WALL STREET OUTLOOK Lower open seen ahead of consumer price data; Citi in focus

UK small caps higher midday; Vivomedica jumps on director share buyingLondon shares - midday features

Precious Metals Summary - London AM Fixings

FOCUS Fears for Christmas grow as UK shopper numbers plummet

London shares - midafternoon features

Metals - Gold falls below 790 usd as dollar remains on a firm footing

STOCKWATCH Aker Drilling higher on Seadrill bid valuing it at 3.77 bln nkr

Metals - Copper falls as demand woes prevailPrecious Metals Summary - London PM Fixings

End-of-day Market Roundup

Have a great weekend all!

G.

Market reports:

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

The Government must suspend a set of key banking regulations at the heart of the current financial crisis or risk seeing the economy spiral towards a future that could \"make 1929 look like a walk in the park\", one of Britain\'s leading economists has warned.
Call to relax Basel banking rules

According to one banker: \"That is what is likely to happen this time around as well. When more banks start facing failure the authorities will suspend the Basel regulations.\" With credit markets still looking extremely shaky despite the central bank\'s decision to pour so much more money into the system, it is a prospect that looks increasingly likely.
Cutting through the normal banking rules

The massive cash injection from the Bank of England, along with funds from its international counterparts, is welcome but too little to calm the fears sweeping money markets.
Banks have $100bn, but no magic wand

The pound fell sharply against the dollar yesterday after a leading member of the Bank of England\'s Monetary Policy Committee said she was unconcerned by a decline in the value of sterling and added that she did not believe the UK was moving back towards a high-inflation environment.
Pound falls on remarks by MPC member

Vikram Pandit, the new chief executive of Citigroup, has put his bank under further financial strain by bringing $49 billion (£24 billion) worth of high-risk off-balance sheet investments onto its books just as new analysis predicts it will need to take a $30 billion writedown on its loan portfolio next year.
Citigroup under more strain as SIVs worth $49bn put on balance sheet

Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan believes the chances that the US economy will enter into a recession in 2008 now stand at 50-50.
Greenspan\'s US recession warning

Investors took fright this week after the announcement of central bank intervention in the financial system, while fears over rising inflation and slowing growth were heightened by the week’s data releases.
Overview: Central bank action fails to convince

Booming demand for energy from China and the Middle East will drive global oil consumption up 2.5 per cent next year despite the growing threat of a recession in America, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The Paris-based energy watchdog said yesterday that it expected global crude oil demand to grow by 2.1 million barrels a day in 2008, 200,000 barrels a day higher than its previous forecast.
Buoyant China expected to lead growing demand for oil

Anthony Bolton, the veteran fund manager at Fidelity International, is calling the bottom for property stocks and considering buying battered-down shares in housebuilders and retail companies.
Fidelity manager puts faith in property stocks as he says share values will build