...the main headlines..........
Stocks drop for a second day
Shares fell for the second day in a row in Asia, after the Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 2.5 per cent in the US. Financial companies were among the main victims in Asian trading, with Citigroup's announcement of massive job cuts worrying the markets. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 2.4 per cent and is closing in again on the five-year low reached a little over two weeks ago. In Japan the Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell another two per cent, led down by property company Mitsubishi Estate after weak housing forecasts. In London the FTSE 100 was down one per cent in early trading.
After the credit crunch, what next for the world? 
Citigroup to cut 52,000 jobs
Bellweather financial Citigroup announced huge new job losses on Monday, as the financial crisis continued to take its toll, said the Financial Times. The company revealed it would cut 52,000 jobs, or one in seven employees, in "radical action" designed to save about $10bn. The "dramatic escalation" was unveiled by chief executive Vikram Pandit, as he struggles to set the bank on a firm footing after four consecutive quarterly losses. After a 75 per cent drop in the value of its shares in the past year they fell a further 6.6 per cent on Monday.
A trillion reasons to be gloomy about the economy
Stelios refuses to sign off accounts
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder of low-cost airline easyJet, has "ramped up" his dispute with the board by refusing to approve the company's annual accounts, reported the Times. Haji-Ioannou sets out the reasons for his actions in a "formal statement" attached to the airline's results, in which he says he believes they do not reflect the true financial state of affairs. He is currently involved in a row with the board over his appointment of two non-executive directors and is also concerned over the pace of growth and lack of dividend. Pre-tax profit fell from £191m to £123m.
People: Vijay Mallya brings Kingfisher to town
Volcker gives slump warning
Paul Volcker, the former US Federal Reserve chairman, warned that the economic crisis "threatens to overwhelm the incoming Obama", reported the Daily Telegraph. He said at a conference yesterday that the financial system is "broken" and that normal monetary policy is unable to deal with current systemic problems. His speech came as a "blizzard" of negative data showed the extent of the downturn, with the Empire State index of manufacturing dropping to minus 24.6 in October, the lowest ever recorded.
Alexander Cockburn: economic woes pile up for Barack Obama
Wolseley slashes more jobs
Building supplier Wolseley announced plans to shed 2,000 jobs and close more than 200 branches in the UK and Ireland, said the Independent. The company cut 5,050 jobs between August and October in America and the new losses reflect expectations for a "further decline in trading". First quarter earnings showed group trading profits were down 30 per cent, due to lower profitability in both the UK and US. The job losses are expected to reduce annual costs at the company by £80m and are the latest in a "raft" of headcount reductions from UK companies.
People: more bad news for the Candy brothers
Paulson fund buys into mortgages
John Paulson, the hedge fund manager who profited from selling subprime mortgage debt after forecasting the problems in the sector, has started buying, reported the Financial Times. "Famously bearish investor" Paulson started buying mortgage-backed securities at the end of last week, after they fell in value when Treasury secretary Hank Paulson said he had decided against supporting that market. Paulson, who has $36bn under management, made $3.7bn personally last year, according to Alpha Magazine.
How Porsche stung the hedge funds
...in brief..................
RICS report shows rents falling and Ford to sell Mazda stake
A report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors revealed that rents for UK homes fell for the first time in five-and-a-half years as the number of properties on the market increased. More owners are becoming landlords, as they don't want to sell at lower prices…………
Yahoo! is "more likely than ever to be acquired by Microsoft" after its chief executive Jerry Yang announced plans to step down, said Bloomberg.com. Yahoo shares rose 4.4 per cent in late trading as investors digested the news, which is seen as being positive by analysts…………
Macquarie Group's run of 14 years of profit growth "is likely to end this year" after the largest investment bank in Australia reported a 43 per cent drop in first half profits, said the Financial Times. The group said its funding position "remained strong" in spite of the fall…………
John Lewis saw a "dramatic sales fall" in the week to Saturday November 15th, said the Daily Telegraph. The drop raises renewed fears over Christmas retail trading as speculation mounts that Marks & Spencer is to launch a "one-day sale" later this week………….
Sterling rose against the dollar yesterday, "in defiance of shadow chancellor George Osbourne's controversial warning that it could collapse", said the Guardian. Traders attributed the rise to profit-taking on the dollar, after its six and a half year high of 1.45 last week…………
Troubled US automaker Ford may announce plans to sell its 20 per cent stake in Mazda, reported Reuters. Ford has a 33.4 per cent stake in the Japanese car company, but is "scrambling to raise cash" to turn around its slumping global sales. Mazda shares rose 6.4 per cent on the report…………
Are GM, Ford and Chrysler too big to fail?
