Hello traders!

In the US tonight, a late rally in financials took the DJIA 70.49 points higher to
7,957.06. The S&P500 closed ahead 8.37 points at 851.92 and the Nasdaq
Composite gained 6.09 points at 1,652.21.

See you in the morning with the latest.....

G.

Good morning traders!

In Asia today, the Nikkei was down 152.09 points at 8,694.92, while the Hang
Seng ended the morning 66.14 points lower at 15,148.32.

Crude oil was trading at $49.12 a barrel on Nymex.

Happy Friday!

G.

Morning all. Market reports:

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

The prospect of the UK losing its AAA sovereign credit rating, resulting in higher interest rates for companies and households, moved a step closer after ratings agencies voiced fears about the UK's vast public debt burden.
Borrowing puts UK's AAA rating in danger after Budget 2009

A clutch of political and labour leaders in Germany have raised the spectre of civil unrest after the country's leading institutes forecast a 6pc contraction of gross domestic product this year, a slump reminiscent of 1931 and bad enough to drive unemployment to 4.7m by 2010.
Germany's slump risks 'explosive' mood as second banking crisis looms

Governments in the US and Europe must do more to fix their shattered financial systems or risk prolonging the world recession, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the World Bank, warned today.
Fix financial systems or prolong recession, says World Bank chief

The credit crunch has thus far focused on the residential mortgage mess. But with $1.3 trillion in loans to shopping centers and other commercial properties coming due between now and 2013, another time bomb is ticking.
The Looming Crisis in Commercial Real Estate

The US government threatened to eject the entire board of Bank of America if the firm pulled out of a $50bn (34bn) take over of troubled Merrill Lynch in December. In potentially explosive testimony to regulators, Bank of America's chief executive, Ken Lewis, has claimed the US treasury ordered him to press ahead with a buyout of Merrill and to keep quiet about the Wall Street brokerage's mounting losses.
Bank of America chief 'told to buy Merrill or face sack'

NIKKEI 225	AUSTRALIA ASX200	SHANGHAI	HANG SENG

KOSPI	VIX	GOLD	NYMEX CRUDE

AML Goldman: upgraded to neutral from sell
AU. Deutsche Bank: reiterated buy, tp raised to 1600 from 1500
AU. UBS: neutral, tp raised to 1460 from 1350
BLT Cazenove: downgraded to in-line from outperform
CW. JP Morgan: upgraded to overweight from neutral, tp raised to 180 from 170
DEB Citgroup: reiterated buy, tp raised to 100 from 75
DEB Deutsche: upgraded to buy from hold
DEB Nomura: upgraded to buy from reduce, tp raised to 90 from 39
FLTR UBS: upgraded to neutral from sell
GSK Citigroup: reiterated buy, tp cut to 1300 from 1400
KAZ Cazenove: upgraded to outperform from in-line
PSN Arbuthnot: buy, tp 364
RPS Goldman: upgraded to buy from neutral
SMWH Citigroup: reiterated buy, tp raised to 480 from 440
TRIL Citigroup: reiterated hold, tp raised to 1630 from 1533

Q1 GDP fell 1.9%

Midday Market Overview

INVESTORS CHRONICLE

Share Tips of the week:

Sell Fresnillo at 463p
Sell Luminar at 180p
Sell Majestic Wine at 178p

Buy European Goldfields at 150p
Buy Hampson at 88p
Buy Scisys at 88p

Updates:

Buy Halfords -- Chesnara -- Globo

Sell Aveva

Telford Homes high enough

Company Results:

Buy
Gulfsands Petroleum -- Kenmare Resources -- Gas Turbine Efficiencies -- Velosi -- China Food -- AT Communications -- Faroe Petroleum

Sell
Peter Hambro Mining

End-of-day Market Overview