Good morning traders!

In Asia today, at the midday break, the Nikkei was down 36.51 points at 12,828.54,
while the Hang Seng advanced 319.10 points to end the morning at 20,803.47.

US crude oil fell 97 cents to $111.90 a barrel.

Happy trading!

G.

Morning all. Market reports:

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

Fears that the financial crisis has months, if not years, to run led shares in New York and London to tumble sharply as the global economic crisis continues. In a nervous day of trading on both sides of the Atlantic, equity prices dropped sharply amid a flow of gloomy economic news about the US housing market and a dire warning about the health of its financial institutions.
Bad news on US housing and banks hits investor confidence

Many traders scooped up defensive put options on Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc on Tuesday, betting its stock will suffer more losses. Shares of the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank fell 13.1 percent, or $1.97, to $13.11 on the New York Stock Exchange in afternoon trade.
Lehman option traders bet stock will keep falling

Policymakers in the US could not have a more difficult dilemma. Producer prices, the costs that businesses have to pay for goods and which they are starting to pass on to consumers, soared to a 27-year high last month at the same time as the construction of new homes, a powerful indicator of the health of the economy, slumped.
Producer price inflation soars to 27-year high of 9.8% in US

Kenneth Rogoff, chief economist to the International Monetary Fund between 2001 and 2004, told an audience in Singapore that "the financial crisis is at the halfway point, perhaps."
Worst of financial crisis is still to come, ex-IMF chief Ken Rogoff warns

There are two views of Rogoff. One is that he an academic who knows his own mind and is prepared to speak it. The not-so-polite view is that he is a pointy-head who doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut, and is plain wrong to boot.
The nutty professor is probably right again

Fears that Asia has been infected by the global economic slowdown and by persistent inflation sent markets in Japan and Hong Kong tumbling.
Inflation jitters upset Far East

The hedge fund group that took a huge bet on Northern Rock as it was imploding last autumn has reportedly lost 85 per cent of its investors' money, amid evidence of a terrible spell this summer for many hedge funds. Many alternative asset managers, who pride themselves on their ability to make money regardless of market conditions, posted their worst figures for years in July and most are nursing losses for the year to date.
Hedge funds at a loss to cope with mood swing

NIKKEI 225	AUSTRALIA ASX200	SHANGHAI	HANG SENG

The Wednesday Press Roundup

BROKERWATCH Sainsbury cut to 'neutral' from 'overweight' by JP MorganThomson Financial UK at a glance share guide

Tokyo shares close marginally lower amid global economic woes

Tokyo shares close marginally lower amid global economic woes - UPDATE

Midday Market Roundup

Precious Metals Summary - London AM Fixings

I think there have been changes to AFX today so I'm afraid there's not much news to post.

End-of-day Market Roundup