| Fear of severe downturn grips world markets Fears of a severe recession gripped financial markets as dire unemployment figures from the US drove long-term interest rates down to record lows  Insurers lead Footsie on downward path Aviva, Prudential and Legal & General punished amid fresh concerns over capital positions and rights issues, while commodity stocks take another beating on oil price concerns Fear stalks the world's economies Anxiety about a severe recession gripped financial markets as dire unemployment figures from the US drove long-term interest rates to record lows October retail sales better than expected UK retail sales in the three months to October were flat, a much better outcome than expected and in contradiction to gloomy industry surveys, as retailers are forced into discounts to entice shoppers, as official data also showed public sector finances in their first deficit since 1994 Aim loses its shine as new listings dry up The boom times have come to an abrupt halt for Aim, London's lightly regulated share market for smaller companies as new fundraisings dry up L&G supports Barclays issue through gritted teeth Legal & General Investment Management has backed away from its threat to vote against Barclays' move to raise £7bn in fresh capital, much of it from Middle Eastern investors RBS bosses apologise to investors A profuse and candid apology to angry investors in Royal Bank of Scotland for its troubles was delivered by its chairman and outgoing chief executive Hedge fund investors pull out record $40bn Hedge fund investors pulled a record $40bn out of the industry in October as poor performance prompted a flight to cash, according to data on Thursday Halfords warns of fall in trading Car maintenance and bike seller says sales have slowed since the end of September as it seeks to sell more high margin products DMGT seeks to save £100m from cost cuts Owner of the Daily Mail and a range of regional titles including the Evening Standard reveals plans to save £100m as it reports falling profits Bank of England discussed 200bp rate cut The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to slash the bank rate by 1.5 percentage points this month, and considered an even larger cut, underscoring concerns about credit conditions globally and the decline in consumption and demand at home Sorrell offers glimmer of hope over advertising Sir Martin Sorrell offered a glimmer of hope to struggling newspapers, radio companies and broadcasters, saying they would be more attractive to his clients next year New British Land chief due by Christmas Chris Gibson-Smith, executive chairman of British Land, said the property company had "seen a wide range of candidates" to replace Stephen Hester, its former chief executive who takes up his new role at Royal Bank of Scotland this month. He hoped to make an appointment before Christmas BSkyB holds off ITV share sale decision The satellite broadcaster has said it will wait to decide on whether to launch an appeal against a decsion to force it to sell a 17.9% holding in commercial broadcaster ITV Manufacturers expect sharpest contraction in 30 years The CBI Industrial Trends survey came as the EEF reported that one in four companies which had negotiated a pay deal in the three months to the end of September had either deferred a decision or elected to freeze pay News Wizard |