This Morning in London major shares were firmly lower in early deals. Financials and housebuilders came under pressure following heavy falls in the US overnight. Among financials, Northern Rock (NRK) was off 4.4p at 100p after the Times reported Cerberus has dropped out of the running to buy the group. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was down 13.5p at 459.5p, Barclays (BARC) fell 15.5p at 540.5p and Lloyds TSB (LLOY) was 11.5p lower at 487p. Out of the home construction stocks, Taylor Wimpey (TW.) was down 8.75p at 214.5p, while Barratt Developments (BDEV) fell 8.75p at 477p and Persimmon (PSN) was 16.5p lower at 804p. At 9:35 the FTSE-100 was down 52 points at 6,484.9 with the FTSE-250 off 127.3 points at 10,520.6.
BROKER RECOMMENDATIONS
Cazenove reiterates underperform on Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and has neutral on HBOS (HBOS).
Collins Stewart says buy Reckitt Benckiser (RB.) (raising the price target to 3400p).
Credit Suisse has downgraded Michael Page (MPI) to underperform from neutral and upgraded Hays (HAS) to outperform from neutral.
Goldman has upgraded Electrocomponents (ECM) to neutral from sell (265p price target) and Topps Tiles (TPT) to buy from neutral (cutting the price target to 205p from 265p).
The broker reiterates buy British Energy (BGY) (cutting the price target to 678p from 716p) and has neutral on Carpetright (CPR) (cutting the price target to 915p from 1025p).
Goldman says buy Drax Group (DRX) (raising the price target to 876p from 861p), French Connection (FCCN) (cutting the price target to 130p from 200p) and Game Group (GMG) (raising the price target to 260p from 219p) and has neutral on Headlam (HEAD) (cutting the price target to 515p from 570p).
The broker says sell Home Retail (HOME) (cutting the price target to 283p from 327p) and has neutral on JJB Sports (JJB) (cutting the price target to 140p from 216p) and Majestic Wine (MJW) (cutting the target price to 300p from 347p).
Goldman says buy Reckitt Benckiser (RB.) (raising the price target to 3206p from 3034p), Ted Baker (TBK) (raising the price target to 690p from 670p) and Vodafone (VOD) and has neutral on WH Smith (SMWH) (cutting the price target to 360p from 445p).
WH Ireland reiterates buy International Personal Finance (IPF) and has outperform on Mattioli Woods (MTW) and Scott Wilson (SWG).
The broker has put Rubicon (RUBI) “under review”, looking to upgrade and says buy Vindon Healthcare (VDN).
Lehman has downgraded Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) to equal-weight from overweight (cutting the price target to 2200p from 2300p).
The broker has initiated coverage of Eurotunnel (ETL) appending an equal-weight recommendation and a €12.80 price target.
Merrill has downgraded Sports Direct (SPD) to sell from neutral and reiterates buy Raymarine (RAY) (340p price target).
The broker says buy Bunzl (BNZL) (740p price target) and International Personal Finance (IPF) (320p price target).
Merrill says sell HMV Group (HMV) and has neutral on Johnston Press (JPR).
NEWS ROUND-UP
Last Night in New York stocks took a steep dive after the Federal Reserve shaved both its Fed funds target and discount rates by 25 basis points and offered a more tepid assessment of the economy than equity investors were looking for. The Dow Jones fell 294.3 points to 13,432.8, with just two of the blue-chip index's 30 components ending higher. The S&P fell 38.31 points to 1,477.65, while the Nasdaq declined 66.6 to 2,652.35.
On this day in:-
1989 - Great Britain began the forced repatriation of Vietnamese refugees from camps in Hong Kong.
1988 - A train crash at Clapham Junction, just outside London, killed 35 people and injured another 100.
1977 - In Great Britain, women were elected to the Jockey Club for the first time.
1969 - Greece withdrew from the Council of Europe, following charges of violating human rights.
1966 - Great British sailor Francis Chichester arrived at Sydney - half way in his bid to become the first man to sail solo around the world.
1964 - Kenya gained independence.
1963 - Kenya became a republic within the Great British Commonwealth.
1962 - US President John Kennedy proposed the setting up of a special hot line between the White House in Washington and the Kremlin in Moscow.
1955 - Great British engineer Christopher Cockerell patented the hovercraft.
1955 - Bill Haley and the Comets recorded 'See You Later, Alligator' at the Decca Recording Studios in New York.
1948 - Great Britain introduced national service for all men aged between 18 and 26.
1936 - China declared war on Japan.
1925 - The world's first motel opened in California, USA.
1917 - 540 were killed in a train crash in France.
1915 - The German built Junkers J1, the first all-metal airplane, made its maiden flight.
1913 - Leonardo Da Vinci's most famous painting, the Mona Lisa, which had been stolen from the Louvre Gallery in Paris, was found in the bedroom of a small hotel in Florence.
1911 - King George V and Queen Mary attended the ceremony to mark Delhi replacing Calcutta as the capital of India.
1908 - The start of the first Australian Rugby League tour of the British Isles.
1905 - Tsar Nicholas II of Russia granted Montenegro its own constitution.
1901 - The first transatlantic wireless message was sent 1,800 miles from Poldhu in Cornwall to St John's in Newfoundland, where it was received by the Italian inventor and engineer Gugliemo Marconi.
1894 - Japanese troops invaded Korea.
1804 - Spain declared war on Great Britain.
1787 - Pennsylvania became the second state of the United States of America.
1642 - Dutch navigator Abel Tasman discovered New Zealand.
