UK small caps close slightly lower, with Alphameric down on FY warning

Friday's market reports:

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

HSBC is to take a $945m (467.7m) hit as it closes its struggling US sub-prime mortgage arm in the wake of the continued troubles in the north American housing market.

HSBC hit by sub-prime crisis

Hedge funds reaped 1 billion in profits from Northern Rocks collapsing share price over the past seven months, according to one of Londons most prominent hedge fund managers. Philip Richards, co-founder of RAB Capital and the biggest shareholder in Northern Rock, launched a ferocious attack on some rival hedge funds for fomenting panic, and accused regulators of failing to properly regulate trading in Rock shares

Hedge funds make 1bn from Rock misery

A heady mix of a collapsing dollar, a British banking crisis, and widespread suspicion that central banks are slackening in the fight against inflation, all combined to propel gold above the $730 peak of May 2006.

Fears for global economy fuels propels gold price

Mark Kleinman talks to the influential investment strategist credited with being the first to predict the US sub-prime meltdown.

Chris Wood: the man who predicted the subprime crisis