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The price of oil plunged more than $4 yesterday as fears receded that Hurricane Gustav would inflict severe damage on the US oil sector when the storm weakened off the Louisiana coast.
Oil price plunges as fears of Gustav devastation recede
Catastrophe insurers are facing a $9 billion claims bill for damage to American homes and businesses after Hurricane Gustav tore into the US Gulf Coast last night and breached storm barriers protecting New Orleans.
Insurers expect $9bn Hurricane Gustav claims
SEOUL (Reuters) - State-owned Korea Development Bank (KDB) confirmed on Tuesday that it was in talks with Lehman Brothers for a possible investment in the troubled U.S. bank, but other reports said the price of the deal remained an issue.
KDB confirms talks with Lehman on possible deal
Individual ownership of US stocks has fallen to a record low, highlighting the growing importance of institutional investors in domestic equity markets, according to a report to be issued Tuesday. Retail investors owned 34% of all shares and 24% of stock in the top 1,000 US companies at end-2006, said the Conference Board, an industry group.
Retail investors in US equities hits low
The pound slid beneath the $1.80 mark for the first time in two years as traders abandoned British investments following Alistair Darling's warning that the economy is facing its worst threat for 60 years.
Sterling slides to below $1.80 as investors react to Darling warning
Mortgage approvals in the UK plunged 71% in the year to July, the Bank of England said yesterday, as banks continue to tighten lending conditions. The Bank said approvals fell to 33,000 in July from 35,000 in June, the lowest figure since records began in 1993. The number of people remortgaging also continued its downward trend, dropping to 69,000 during the month, a 14% slide compared with June's figure.
Housing market: Mortgage approvals drop to lowest since records began
Gordon Brown will today launch the first phase of his autumn economic fightback when he unveils a package of measures to revive the ailing housing market targeted at first time buyers and vulnerable families.
Brown's 1bn plan to help homeowners
The City's embattled banks packaged up the biggest amount of mortgage debt in history last quarter, in a desperate scramble to gain access to the Bank of England's Special Liquidity Scheme.
Banks scramble for Bank of England's liquidity cash
Global merger and acquisition volumes have fallen 32pc this year and more stock market flotations have been pulled than in the whole of 2007 as market activity has dried up in the credit crunch, data from Thomson Reuters shows.
Downturn sees M&A deals fall by almost a third
Russian manufacturing contracted for the first time in nearly four years in August as businesses won fewer new orders and cut jobs. VTB Bank Europe's Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 49.4 from 50.4 in July, the fifth consecutive monthly decline. A figure above 50 indicates growth.
New orders for Russian firms fall for first time in 10 years