Morning all. Friday's market reports:
The Times
The Times (Need to know)
FT
The Guardian
The Independent
This is Money
Saturday
The US was hit by its most brutal slump in a quarter of a century at the end of last year as consumers and businesses reined in spending, fuelling fears that the world recession may be deeper than already feared.
Fear of global depression rises as US reveals true extent of decline
The Bank of England is set to bring interest rates down to an effective zero-level within days and to sound the starting pistol on quantitative easing, pumping extra cash into the economy.
Bank of England poised for rate cut
A 24.5 billion (21.8 billion) bailout of Eastern European banks was announced yesterday as efforts were stepped up to prevent the economic downturn causing a damaging East-West split on the Continent.
Eastern European banks given 24.5bn aid
If high dividend yields are a sign of distress, then London-listed hedge fund managers are clearly in trouble.
The stampede to escape from hedge funds has longer to run
Sunday
HSBC, Europes largest bank, will tomorrow announce the closure of its troubled US mortgage lending operation to new business alongside plans to cut its dividend and raise more than 12bn in a deeply-discounted rights issue
HSBC to raise 12bn in rights issue
WARREN BUFFETT admitted yesterday that he did some dumb things in 2008, as the worlds richest investor announced that Berkshire Hathaway, his company, had its worst year on record.
Warren Buffett: I was dumb in 2008
Monday
The struggling economies of South-East Asia, their export-led models thrust into chaos by the global downturn, have called for the rapid creation of a $120 billion (84 billion) foreign reserve pool to protect them from the worst of the financial storm.
Asean leaders seek $120bn pool of foreign reserves
AIG will on Monday announce a radical plan to break itself up as a global insurance conglomerate by ceding control of its two largest divisions to the US government in exchange for a $30bn-plus lifeline.
AIG agrees to break itself up
More homes are being put up for sale and more are also finding buyers, but at prices well below sellers' expectations. As a result, the average sale price is now 88 per cent of the figure at which a property is first marketed, according to the latest survey from Hometrack, the housing data group.
Suddenly there are signs of life in the housing market
The UK's 200 largest final salary pension schemes saw their pensions deficit soar by 16bn last month to 45bn.
Deficits soar amid market turmoil
Private investors scared off the stock market by recent turbulence are starting to dip back tentatively into shares, according to new data.
Private investors edge back into shares
The London Stock Exchange is taking steps to head off the drift away from the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), the once-thriving exchange for small, fast-growing companies.
LSE attempts to stop decline of its junior market after funding for start-ups dries up