Morning all. Friday's market reports:
Telegraph
The Times
The Times (Need to know)
FT
The Guardian
The Independent
This is Money
Saturday
One pound is now worth just 1.11, compared with 1.39 a year ago and the lowest it has been since the launch of the single currency in 1999. At its highest in 2000, the pound was worth more than 1.70.
Pound reaches new low against the euro
Analysts warned investors yesterday that Deutsche Bank was likely to make a substantial loss in the fourth quarter amid reports that a key trader at the German bank was as much as $1 billion (670 million) in the red on proprietary trades.
Traders $1bn loss bodes ill for Deutsches fourth quarter
If Mr Madoff's estimate of $50bn in losses turns out to be correct, the scam will dwarf anything carried out by the eponymous Charles Ponzi in the 1920s. It would be more than four times larger than the fraud which brought down WorldCom, the telecoms giant, in 2002, the biggest bankruptcy in US history. It is not known yet just how many years the trader may have been cooking his books, but it might also end up as one of the longest to have gone undetected.
'Superwoman' stung by hedge fund guru's '$50bn trading scam'
On Wednesday, Madoff told two senior executives at his firm -- reportedly his sons, who helped run Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities -- that he wanted to pay bonuses to key employees immediately rather than in February, as was customary, according to a civil complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Madoff eventually divulged that his funds were almost out of money and that the operation was "all one big lie," the complaint said.
Madoff's reliable returns aroused doubts
Sunday
STERLINGs fall could limit the Bank of Englands scope for further aggressive cuts in interest rates, analysts warn, following the pounds drop to a record low of 1.11 against the euro last week.
Pounds plunge is expected to limit cuts in UK interest rates
BRITAINs biggest banks could be handed a backdoor interest-rate cut as early as this week, in the latest government effort to kick-start lending to the real economy. Treasury officials are examining plans to cut the fees charged on the governments 250 billion credit guarantee scheme part of the bank bailout announced in October.
Rates plan to boost lending
Other victims include the Spanish bank Santander, which owns Abbey in Britain and may have lost more than $3 billion, according to reports in Spain. In addition, a host of global financial institutions, many of which are still reeling from the turmoil of recent months, have been dealt a fresh blow
Nicola Horlick's anger at 33 billion swindle
ANTHONY BOLTON, one of the Citys most respected fund managers, has urged investors to prepare for a new bull market early next year, led by banks and property stocks.
Anthony Bolton calls share rally in new year
Banking giant Barclays is expected to become the latest UK lender to unveil plans to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) beat the credit crunch, as criticism from the government and small business representatives gathers pace.
Barclays to unveil lending boost to help SMEs
COUNCILS in England and Wales are drawing up plans for a national bank to pool billions of pounds of cash they hold on deposit and to invest it in stalled infrastructure projects. The fund would pool some of the 15 billion - 20 billion belonging to the 430 local authorities in England and Wales, and offer a safer haven than commercial banks.
Councils examine national bank plan
One of the big rumours is that BHP could yet return for Rio. Research released by UBS last week suggested that Mr Kloppers could make another almost certainly less generous offer in late 2009, while X-strata could also revisit a collapsed proposal to take over fellow miner Lonmin.
Gossip the only commodity worth digging up
Monday
The pound could fall further this week on the back of a raft of gloomy data as analysts warn that sterling's weakness could develop into a full-blown crisis.
Sterling: fears increase as economic woes deepen
The Government will not intervene to help the plunging pound because maintaining sterling is not its responsibility, ministers said.
Plunging pound not the Government's business, Treasury minister says
The US Federal Reserve is tipped tomorrow to pave the way for it to take more extraordinary measures to kick-start the American economy after it cuts interest rates to an historic low of only 0.5 per cent. The Fed is expected to cut the key US official interest rate, its Fed Funds target rate, by another half-point from the present 1 per cent level that matches past record lows
Radical US Federal Reserve action expected with rate cut
Global oil production will peak much earlier than expected amid a collapse in petroleum investment due to the credit crunch, one of the world's foremost experts has revealed.
Global oil supply will peak in 2020, says energy agency
The extent of the fall-out from the alleged Bernard Madoff fraud started to become apparent yesterday, as dozens more institutions and individuals across the globe were revealed to have had some exposure to the funds that his firm manage
Fall-out from Madoff affair to hit big banks
U.S. regulators never inspected Bernard Madoffs investment advisory business, alleged to be a Ponzi scheme that cost investors $50 billion, after he subjected it to oversight two years ago, people familiar with the case said.
Madoff Tragedy Said to Have Escaped Scrutiny by SEC