News that Taylor Wimpey failed to secure additional funding of some £500m, coupled with having to shed 900 jobs, sent the share price sharply down today. The shares ended the day down 25p (41%) at 35p, with intra-trading lows bottoming at a 57% loss. (more…)

The FTSE fell 104 points (1.78%) to end the day at 5,723.30 amid fears that the UK economy is heading for even tougher times. Leading the charge south were the banking stocks with HBOS closing 11.64% lower at 258p. This leaves the share price lower than existing investors have been offered shares as part of the £4bn rights issue. Royal Bank of Scotland was also hit, falling 9% to close at 212.25p. (more…)

The FTSE 100 closed the week at 5,962.90, down slightly on the day by 24.6 points. Persimmon, the only housebuilder in the FTSE 100 was the biggest casualty, closing 40 points lower at 749.5p. (more…)