Hello traders!

In the US tonight, the Dow Jones Industrial Averagegained 90.04 points to
12,427.26. The S&P 500 climbed 11.25 points to 1,360.03, while the Nasdaq
Composite gained 20.9 points to 2,327.1.

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

G.

Morning all. Market reports:

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

The Federal Reserve left the door open to further US interest rate cuts as it lowered its growth forecast for 2008 due to continued tightening in the housing and credit markets.
US Fed may cut US interest rates again after gloomy forecast

Fears over a darkening outlook for Americas economy were fuelled last night by the Federal Reserve when it sharply cut its forecast for US growth for the second time in four months.
Fed cuts growth forecast as US inflation and jobless level rise

Every member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee backed this month's rate cut, although one voted for a more aggressive decrease.
MPC was unanimous in support for immediate interest rate cut

A Bank of England policymaker voted for a half a percentage point cut in interest rates at this month's meeting for the first time in almost seven years. David Blanchflower said rates should be cut to 5pc immediately because of the "risk of a very sharp slowdown in UK growth".
Bank of England MPC member wanted to slash rates to 5pc, minutes reveal

Britains housing market is a house of cards that is set to implode after years of reckless mortgage lending, chronic oversupply of new flats and widespread fraud, a leading analyst said yesterday.
UK housing market close to collapse, analyst says

If Alastair Stewart, a housebuilding analyst with Dresdner Kleinwort, is even half-right, the roof is caving in on this dreamy world of loft-style living. There just arent enough affluent young urbanites to buy or rent all this new space without big price falls. Ipswich, bluntly, is not Manhattan.
Apartment walls will come tumbling down

Alistair Darling is facing a major deterioration in the public finances in the coming years, despite having raked in a record month's tax receipts in January, experts warned.
It's looking bleak, experts tell Darling

Standard Chartered has abandoned clients in its crippled Whistlejacket structured investment vehicle (SIV) by withdrawing all offers of support, leaving investors with little prospect of recovering anything.
Standard Chartered abandons SIV clients

NIKKEI 225	AUSTRALIA ASX200	SHANGHAI	HANG SENG

Good morning traders!

In Asia today, the Nikkei ended up 377.91 points at 13,688.28, while the Hang
Seng reached midway up 340.47 points at 23,931.05.

New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March,
touched the all-time peak in electronic trading before it lapsed.

In Asian morning trade, the contract for April delivery, which took over, was
trading at $99.90 a barrel, up 20 cents from the previous day.

Happy trading!

G.

OUTLOOK Reed Elsevier to report strong 2007OUTLOOK Centrica FY opg profit seen higher; eyes on British Gas performanceOUTLOOK Kingfisher Q4 to reveal slowdownOUTLOOK BAE Systems FY profit to rise on land & armaments, programmes progressOUTLOOK Shire FY profit seen up but Vyvanse in focusAustralian shares close higher on strong H1 results from blue chips - UPDATETFN economic and business calendar

TFN UK calendar and forecasts for today

The Thursday Press RoundupLondon shares outlook - up, after Wall Street rally; Centrica, BAE in focus

BROKERWATCH Alliance & Leicester cut to 'underweight' at Morgan Stanley, HSBC

BROKERWATCH BP downgraded to 'sell' vs 'hold' at Citigroup, tgt 530p vs 570p

Thomson Financial UK at a glance share guide

BROKERWATCH Ladbrokes and William Hill target prices cut at Investec

UK smallcap opening - Imaginatik ticks up on Pfizer funding

BROKERWATCH Kingfisher downgraded to 'sell' vs 'hold' at Seymour Pierce

UK smallcap opening - Bisichi Mining rises on coal prices rise

UK smallcap opening - Kiwara higher on positive drilling updateLondon shares open higher, after Wall Street rally; BAE up as profit risesUK smallcap opening - Scotty Group edges up on trading update

STOCKWATCH Kingfisher higher after in-line update; brokers remain positiveUK smallcap opening - Dori Media climbs on better-than-expected FY results

UK smallcap opening - Networkers up after positive update

MPH 21 - 23p +1.50p

breaking into new highs lately after the bounce

BROKERWATCH Heineken target cut to 43 eur from 47.5 at ING UPDATEUK smallcap opening - Bede down on below market value indicative offer

STOCKWATCH BAE Systems higher after strong results; Numis Securities 'buy'UK smallcap opening - BATM ahead on bumper FY results; dividend resumption

UK small caps open higher; Imaginatik strong on Pfizer share subscription

STOCKWATCH Reed Elsevier shares rise on restructuring plan

Metals - Gold, precious metals hit highs as dollar eases, inflation fears growMetals - Copper hits 4 1/2 mth peak amid surging commodity prices, tight stocks

STOCKWATCH Centrica lower after uninspiring FY numbers; Deutsche Bank positive

Metals - Gold hits record high amid rising inflation fears UPDATEMetals - Copper hits 4 1/2 mth peak as commodities surge, stocks tighten UPDATE

London shares - mid-morning features

WALL STREET OUTLOOK Building on prior session gains on Fed committment to growth

STOCKWATCH Shire storms higher as full year sales beat forecasts

London shares - midday featuresUK small caps higher midday with Antisoma firmer on strong H1 and M&A talk

STOCKWATCH Shire up as FY numbers beat estimates; Vyvanse sales beat ests UPDATEFOCUS Prospects for profitable carbon capture operations depend on policy, price

Precious Metals Summary - London AM Fixings

FOCUS Outsourcers to see 5 pct upgrades to earnings after next week's results

STOCKWATCH Shire gains as FY numbers, Vyvanse sales beat estimates UPDATE

Metals - Gold stays higher midafternoon on inflation fears, other metals firm

BROKERWATCH Rexam downgraded to 'fair value' from 'buy' at Kaupthing

FOCUS Imperial Tobacco may see 1-2 pct boost if US lifts trade ban on Cuba

London shares - midafternoon features

Metals - Copper hits fresh 4 1/2 mth peak, tight stocks support

OUTLOOK Aviva FY profit seen 6.6 pct lowerPrecious Metals Summary - London PM Fixings

TFN economic and business calendar to Thursday March 6

Metals - Gold hits record high as dollar weakens sharply following US data

End-of-day Market Roundup