Morning all. Market reports:
Telegraph
The Times
The Times (Need to know)
FT
The Guardian
The Independent
This is Money
Fallout from the sub-prime mortgage crisis wreaked further havoc yesterday as Bank of America, Wachovia and PNC all said that investment write-downs would be worse than forecast as the credit crunch worsened.
Credit crisis worsens as Alan Greenspan says the Fed is powerless
Home owners and borrowers were given fresh hope yesterday after an unprecedented intervention in the faltering financial markets by the world's largest central banks.
Banks pump billions into crisis-hit markets
Unprecedented announcement of $100bn cash injection to financial system initially rallies bourses but leaves traders with a strategic headache.
Markets confused by banks' aid
The co-ordinated move by five central banks to shore up confidence in the worlds frozen money markets is not the first piece of international co-operation to fend off a financial crisis. It is, however, one of the biggest joint efforts so far, and the first major intervention of its kind since the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
Great Depression drives Bernake's rescue
Questions about Bank of England Governor Mervyn King's handling of the liquidity crisis continued to be raised after it took a co-ordinated global effort to bail out the UK's banks. Mr King has been heavily criticised for failing to inject desperately needed funds into the three-month money market. Bankers described his early stance as "puritanical", while efforts to pump money into the markets in September failed because by then the stigma of drawing on central bank funds was considered "financial suicide".
Mervyn King's 'belated conversion' welcomed
Asian stocks eased on Thursday on market skepticism about plans by major central banks to tackle tight credit conditions, while the low-yielding yen found a steadier footing after sliding overnight.
Asian markets sceptical of credit plan
The crucial Christmas trading period has got off to a disastrous start for retailers, with the number of people shopping last week down by almost 4pc compared to the previous year.
No Christmas cheer for retailers
Sales of homes fell at their fastest pace for at least eight years last month, a key survey suggested yesterday. The number of newly agreed sales dropped for the fifth month in a row in November, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said. It is the sharpest decline since the survey began in 1999.
House sales tumble to worst level in eight