Hello traders!

In the US tonight, the Dow rose 65.3 points to end at 13,232.5, while the S&P500
gained 9.04 points to 1,454.94 and the Nasdaq Composite fell climbed 21.57 points
to 2,596.03.

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

Mounting fear among banks over lending to each other threatens to prolong and deepen the global credit squeeze and add to the severity of its toll on economies, Mervyn King warned MPs yesterday.
Mervyn King tells of 'this palpable sense of fear' holding back bank lending

Mervyn King has launched a major broadside at the banking sector, labelling it "dangerous" and urging politicians to impose fresh regulations on the City's financiers. In comments which will aggravate the already-strained relationship between the Bank of England Governor and the Square Mile, Mr King accused the financial sector of "hubris" by taking excessive risks with assets in recent years.
King blasts bankers over Northern Rock fiasco

The world's central banks have again resorted to shock tactics to unfreeze the credit markets, flushing the global system with $530bn (£263bn) so far this week in the biggest injection of liquidity ever recorded.
Central banks give biggest liquidity boost ever

The Bank of England is once again the frugal sister of the credit markets, vastly outdone by the bountiful maiden of Frankfurt.The half trillion dollar (€349bn) blitz by the European Central Bank is 25 times larger than yesterday's auction on Threadneedle Street, where banks took up a modest £10bn of three-month credit at an average rate of 5.95pc.
Huge ECB cash injection dwarfs BoE auction

Lending rates between banks tumbled in Britain and the eurozone yesterday after the Bank of England auctioned funds and the European Central Bank flooded the market with an unprecedented €350 billion (£250 billion) capital injection.
Central bank auctions inject cash and confidence

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has laid out a detailed plan to stop mortgage lenders from conducting the type of practice that led to the current sub-prime mortgage crisis.
Bernanke's plan to avoid sub-prime repeat

Alan Greenspan, the former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, has come under the most sustained attack to date for his role in America's mortgage meltdown.
Former Fed chief blamed for stoking US sub-prime loans crisis

Hedge funds making bets on falling share prices were the only ones that made money last month as the chaos in the financial markets continued, latest industry data reveals.
'Short-sellers' make huge profits from chaos

The likelihood of a further cut in interest rates in the coming months has jumped after official figures showed the cost of living failed to increase last month.
Rate cut likely as cost of living stays steady

NIKKEI	AUSTRALIA	SHANGHAI	HANG SENG

Good morning traders!

In Asia today, the Nikkei closed down 177.35 points at 15,030.51, while the
Hang Seng was up 241.8 points at 26,974.67 at the midpoint.

Happy trading!

G.

Tokyo shares close lower for sixth straight dayTFN UK calendar and forecasts for todayAustralian shares close lower for sixth day in a row on credit concerns - UPDATETFN economic and business calendarAustralian shares close lower for sixth day in a row on credit concerns

BROKERWATCH BP cut to 'neutral' from 'overweight' by JP Morgan

London shares outlook - higher as Wall St gains; investors eye BoE minutes

Thomson Financial UK at a glance share guide

BROKERWATCH Intercontinental Hotels cut to 'equal-weight' by Morgan Stanley

Bradford & Bingley's (BB.) in the news today as it apparently wants to buy assets from Northern Rock (NRK), whose ratings have been reiterated by S&P. Aquarius Platinum (AQP) have an employee strike on their hands in South Africa. Sports Direct (SPD or 'speed' as we call it here) has announced interim results. Revenue is down because of the weather and England playing badly, underlying profit is £52m which is above the £40m that's been rumoured. A lot of the headline numbers look bad as expected but the international business seems to have earnings growth.

In the mid-caps, oil services company John Wood Group (WG.) says earnings will be above expectations. Cantor are calling it higher, as they are with Cobham (COB), who are making positive noises while complaining about 'currency headwinds'. Wolfson Microelectronic's (WLF) chairman has bought shares worth £194,000. Moneysupermarket.com (MONY) are trading in line with expectations. Pace PIC has been approached about a reverse takeover - not BSkyB spinning out Amstrad already surely? :-)

BP. has been downgraded to neutral from overweight by JP Morgan. S&P have cut Kingfisher's (KGF) ratings outlook to negative. HBOS has been downgraded to neutral from buy at Goldman Sachs, who have also downgraded Barclays (BARC) to sell from neutral. WH Smith (SMWH) has been upgraded to buy from neutral by UBS, Intercontinental Hotels downgraded to equal-weight from overweight by Morgan Stanley.

FTSE is currently being called up 21 at 6300 by CMC. Dow futures are up 6 at 13,238.

BROKERWATCH Barclays, Natixis, UBS, HBOS downgraded at Goldman SachsBROKERWATCH Rexam upgraded to 'outperform' vs 'neutral' at Credit SuisseTokyo shares close lower for sixth straight day - UPDATE

BROKERWATCH Vodafone initiated as 'sell' at SG Securities, target 160 pence

UK smallcap opening - Beowulf Mining ticks up on new Swedish investors report

UK smallcap opening - Real Hotel lower on FY profits warningThe Wednesday Press Roundup

*KINGFISHER OUTLOOK CUT TO NEGATIVE ON CHALLENGING UK ENVIRONMENT - S&PUK smallcap opening - William Ransom slides as interims disappoint

*NOTE TO SUBSCRIBERS KINGFISHER OUTLOOK CUT BY S&PBROKERWATCH UK oil sector stocks price targets raised by Credit SuisseOUTLOOK Vertice 360 market debut seen valuing co at 247-477 mln eurUK smallcap opening - British Polythene slides on FY profits warning

UK smallcap opening - DTZ lower on H1 profits drop; cautious statement

UK smallcap opening - Kalimantan Gold falls as Oxiana declines exercising option

In a note this morning, Credit Suisse said it raising its target price on Burren Energy to 1,230 pence from 1,100 pence; Tullow Oil to 700 pence from 669 pence; Cairn Energy to 2,600 pence from 2,229 pence; and Premier Oil to 1,330 pence from 1,253 pence.

The broker also raised its target price on Venture Production to 684 pence from 641 pence; Soco International to 2,250 pence from 2,121 pence and Dana Petroleum to 1,520 pence from 1,487 pence.

UK smallcap opening - Impax advances as BNP Paribas snaps up 28.31 pct stake

UK smallcap opening - Millbrook Scientific edges up as H1 losses narrow

UK smallcap opening - Johnson Service higher on hopes of deal with lenders

BROKERWATCH Rio Tinto 2008 EPS estimate upped at LehmanUK small caps open easier; Kalimantan weak as Oxiana declines option

Metals - Platinum stays near record highs, gold flat on mixed outlook for dollar

Metals - Copper firms a touch on optimistic outlook for Chinese demand

STOCKWATCH Galapagos higher on news of osteoporosis tie-up with Lilly

Metals - Platinum near record, gold flat on mixed outlook for dollar UPDATE

BROKERWATCH UBS cuts price targets among UK general retailers

Metals - Copper firms a touch on optimistic outlook for Chinese demand UPDATELondon shares - mid-morning features

WALL STREET OUTLOOK Lower open seen on growth fears; Morgan Stanley in focus

London shares - midday features

UK small caps slightly up at midday; Millbrook Scientific top on smaller H1 loss

Midday Market Roundup

FOCUS Nelson Peltz's claims on Cadbury valuation meet with sceptical response

Precious Metals Summary - London AM Fixings

Metals - Copper trades sideways midday after firmer opening

test

Metals - Gold eases as dollar firms vs euro, sterling; platinum steady

It seemed to work, oldgeezer :-)

London shares - midafternoon features

Precious Metals Summary - London PM Fixings

TFN economic and business calendar to Wednesday, Jan 2

End-of-day Market Roundup