HANG SENG INDEX ENDS MORNING UP 36.78 PTS AT 21,741.23

NIKKEI NOW DOWN 11.30 POINTS AT 13,275.07

Morning all. Market reports:

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

Stocks slumped Wednesday, with the Dow and Nasdaq ending in bear market territory on record oil prices, a 15% slump in GM stock and worries ahead of the June jobs report and ECB interest-rate decision, both due Thursday.
Wall Street: The bear is back

The President of the European Central Bank (ECB) said yesterday that inflation could explode without action being taken to quell price pressures. Jean-Claude Trichet's comments cemented expectations that the ECB will press ahead today with a controversial increase in eurozone interest rates.
ECB President, Jean-Claude Trichet, says inflation could 'explode'

The European Commission has told the Government that its borrowing is "excessive" and in breach of international obligations.
Britain told to rein in deficit by EU

Nicola Horlick, the multi-millionaire city worker once described as "superwoman", has warned investors to avoid buying shares for the next two to three years, until the economy has recovered from the credit crunch. The fund-manager, who now heads Bramdean Asset Management, has said she does not anticipate share prices to rise "'in the near future".
City 'superwoman' Nicola Horlick warns investors to stop buying shares

Families will see their living standards fall for at least a year because of the credit crisis and soaring oil prices, the Bank of England has said. As economists warned for the first time that Britain was heading for a recession, the Bank's new deputy governor, Charlie Bean, admitted there was "not very much" the country could do in the face of global financial turmoil.
Standard of living to fall for at least a year

The amount of money withdrawn from the equity in people's homes has reduced by almost two-thirds the past year, as the credit crunch has forced banks and building societies to tighten their lending criteria.
Sharp fall in equity release by home owners

The former BBC economics editor Evan Davis said yesterday that journalists could have done more to warn the public about the credit crunch that triggered the current housing price crash and general financial turmoil. Davis, now a presenter on BBC Radio 4's Today, said the media may have helped to drive up the market by over-reporting statistics on rising house prices in the runup to the credit crunch crisis.
BBC presenter: media to blame on house prices

Newcastle and South African cargoes have plunged by over $20 a tonne in the last day, apparently triggered by fears of a European economic slowdown and concerns that the coal shortage in China might not be quite as extreme as supposed. The sudden change in market psychology could be a warning sign for the oil and gas markets, where frenzied buying has pushed prices to levels once unthinkable.
Coal prices plunge as traders take profits

Investors who secretly build stakes in listed companies using synthetic instruments will have to disclose their holdings when they exceed 3 per cent, under new rules announced yesterday.
Hedge funds angry at new FSA rules on secret stakes

NIKKEI 225	AUSTRALIA ASX200	SHANGHAI	HANG SENG

09:00 EU PMI Services June (consensus 49.5)
09:30 UK PMI Services June (consensus 49.5)
10:00 EU Eurozone Retail Sales May (MoM consensus 0.6%, YoY -0.7%)
12:45 EU ECB Announces Interest Rates
13:30 US Change in Nonfarm Payrolls June (consensus -60K)
13:30 US Unemployment Rate June (consensus 5.4%)
13:30 US Change in Manufacturing Payrolls June (consensus -30K)
13:30 US Initial Jobless Claims (consensus 385K)
13:30 US Continuing Claims (consensus 3123K)
15:00 US ISM Non-Manufacturing June (consensus 51)

OUTLOOK BA to blame weaker premium demand for lower June passenger traffic

The Thursday Press Roundup

BROKERWATCH Marks & Spencer cut to 'neutral' vs 'buy' at Goldman Sachs

London shares outlook - Down; NY lower; U.S. non-farm payrolls, ECB meeting key

BROKERWATCH Yell cut to 'hold' from 'buy' at ABN Amro; target cut to 70p vs 335p

Thomson Financial UK at a glance share guide

BROKERWATCH Tesco upgraded to 'buy' from 'neutral' at Merrill Lynch

UK smallcap opening - Millwall hardens on rejection of Lacey proposal

UK smallcap opening - Armour Group slides on FY profits warningUK smallcap opening - Financial Objects soars on agreed 60p bid from Temenos

UK smallcap opening - Rift Oil moves up on positive drilling results

London shares open lower; NY down; U.S. non-farm payrolls, ECB meeting key

UK smallcap opening - XSN climbs on reverse takeover of MarineTrack

BROKERWATCH JJB Sports upped to 'buy' vs 'sell' in Altium retail sector reviewUK smallcap opening - Fidessa higher on Temenos bid for Financial Objects

UK smallcap opening - Proteome Sciences rallies on soothing statement

STOCKWATCH Greene King down as sales fall; FY profit up; brokers positiveUK smallcap opening - Coal of Africa extends falls on lower coal prices

UK smallcap opening - TomCo Energy firms on consultancy appointment