Wall Street stocks have closed sharply lower after losses deepened in the final hour of trading.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 416.09 points, or 1.82%, to 22,443.51, the S&P 500 lost 50.8 points, or 2.06%, to 2,416.62 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 195.41 points, or 2.99% to 6,333.00.
The drop means that the Nasdaq is officially in a bear market, a drop of 20% from its peak.
US regulators settle auto-trading allegations
US regulator, the Securities and
Exchange Commission, has settled charges with
automated investment management providers Wealthfront Advisers and Hedgeable over allegations that the companies
had made false disclosures to their customers.
In its first enforcement actions against robo-advisers, the
SEC fined Wealthfront $250,000 and Hedgeable $80,000.
The firms did not admit or deny the SEC's
findings.
JD.com boss will not face US assault charge
HENNEPIN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICECopyright: HENNEPIN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
Minnesota prosecutors will not charge the
chief executive officer of China's JD.com. Richard
Liu, after he was accused of rape by a University of Minnesota
student during a recent US visit, authorities said.
Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman said there were
"profound evidentiary problems which would have made it highly
unlikely that any criminal charge could be proven beyond a
reasonable doubt."
In a statement, Freeman said that after an investigation by
Minneapolis police and a review by four senior sexual assault
prosecutors, it was clear his office could not meet its burden
of proof, and therefore could not bring charges.
Bangladesh to probe baby powder for asbestos
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Bangladesh is to collect and test
samples of Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder for asbestos
in a couple of days, its main testing authority said on Friday.
Earlier this month shares in the firm dropped dramatically after a Reuters report that the US pharmaceutical giant had known about asbestos tainting its talcum powder for decades.
The firm described the Reuters article as "one-sided, false
and inflammatory".
The testing in Bangladesh comes as the company faces thousands of lawsuits claiming that its talc products caused cancer.
Johnson & Johnson said on Thursday that its talc is routinely tested by
both suppliers and independent labs to ensure that it is free of
asbestos.
"All talc in India is
sourced and exclusively sold in India and surrounding markets -
including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives - and
fully meets the regulatory standards of the Government of
India", it said.
Gatwick disruption: How will police catch the drone menace?
AFPCopyright: AFP
Police say they are still searching for those responsible for the unprecedented disruption at Gatwick Airport.
But the drones that were flown over the airfield have not been captured and have not been seen since Thursday night.
Endangering the safety of an aircraft is a criminal offence that can carry a prison sentence.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is now trading down 250.44 points, or 1.10%, at 22,609.16.
The Nasdaq is down 2.25%, or 147.03 points, at 6,381.37.
The S&P 500 is down 1.09% at 2,440.56.
Christmas carollers sing rail delay woes
Video content
Video caption: A campaign group give their protests against poor train services a festive twist.A campaign group give their protests against poor train services a festive twist.
Fed-up commuters have taken their revenge against Transpennine Express (TPE) by setting their woes to song.
Friends of Mossley Station's Ellie Shember-Critchley said the group had decided to "get a bit mischievous about things".
Their songs include a version of The Twelve Days of Christmas, which speaks of "three crowded carriages, two cancelled stops, and a late train to [Manchester] Piccadilly".
A TPE spokesman said while there had been "some cancellations to services over recent months, we have put in place changes that have already started to bring about improvements to the reliability".
What do Mario Draghi's ties mean?
Does the European Central Bank's president's dress style mean anything? Credit Agricole reckons it does.
Oil prices have very much gone the way of markets today. They are currently at their lowest level since the third quarter of last year and on track for a whopping loss of 10% in this week alone.
Brent crude is currently 0.2% lower at $54 a barrel while US oil is more or less flat at $46.05 a barrel.
Investors are still concerned about a global oversupply with oil cartel Opec's pledge to cut production doing little to reassure them.
"Opec folks are not doing a good job of convincing the
international oil community that they are going to be a strong
advocate of their supply cut program," said Bob Yawger, director
of futures at Mizuho.
Why are US markets so jittery?
Mike Loewengart, vice-president of investment strategy at E*Trade Financial says "all the known issues that the
investors have been digesting for the last few weeks" have come together to scare investors.
"We have
the prospect of a government shutdown today. We have more shake
ups within the Trump administration," he says.
Wall St takes a tumble
Well the pre-Christmas rally didn't last long.
All three main indexes have now turned negative. The Dow Jones is down 0.6%, the S&P 500 is 0.9% lower whilst the Nasdaq has tumbled 1.8% with tech stocks some of the biggest losers today.
Northern Rail admits it's 'not acceptable'
David Brown is the managing director of Northern Rail. He admits the service they have offered in parts of 2018 has not been acceptable.
Video content
Video caption: David Brown on what he's doing to get the timetable back on track.David Brown on what he's doing to get the timetable back on track.
What's the worst rail line in the UK?
BBCCopyright: BBC
Is the Ormskirk to Preston line the worst railway in the UK?
Since the timetable changes in May, more than 2,000 services have been cancelled between the two towns in north west England, a figure that rises every day.
In exclusive data analysed for the BBC, 5,712 trains were timetabled to run during the six-and-a-half-month period.
But up until Saturday 15 December, only 3,701 operated. That meant a third of services simply vanished.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, says the route operator, Northern, should now be put on final warning.
Gatwick drone is back
Flights at Gatwick have been suspended again due to new "suspected drone sighting", a spokesman says.
Live Reporting
By Katie Hope
All times stated are UK
Happy Christmas
That's it from us for tonight and for the Christmas period.
Have a good break. The Live Page will back in the new year. Join us then - in 2019!
Tune in tomorrow
US stocks sink
Wall Street stocks have closed sharply lower after losses deepened in the final hour of trading.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 416.09 points, or 1.82%, to 22,443.51, the S&P 500 lost 50.8 points, or 2.06%, to 2,416.62 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 195.41 points, or 2.99% to 6,333.00.
The drop means that the Nasdaq is officially in a bear market, a drop of 20% from its peak.
US regulators settle auto-trading allegations
US regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, has settled charges with automated investment management providers Wealthfront Advisers and Hedgeable over allegations that the companies had made false disclosures to their customers.
In its first enforcement actions against robo-advisers, the SEC fined Wealthfront $250,000 and Hedgeable $80,000.
The firms did not admit or deny the SEC's findings.
JD.com boss will not face US assault charge
Minnesota prosecutors will not charge the chief executive officer of China's JD.com. Richard Liu, after he was accused of rape by a University of Minnesota student during a recent US visit, authorities said.
Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman said there were "profound evidentiary problems which would have made it highly unlikely that any criminal charge could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt."
In a statement, Freeman said that after an investigation by Minneapolis police and a review by four senior sexual assault prosecutors, it was clear his office could not meet its burden of proof, and therefore could not bring charges.
Bangladesh to probe baby powder for asbestos
Bangladesh is to collect and test samples of Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder for asbestos in a couple of days, its main testing authority said on Friday.
Earlier this month shares in the firm dropped dramatically after a Reuters report that the US pharmaceutical giant had known about asbestos tainting its talcum powder for decades.
The firm described the Reuters article as "one-sided, false and inflammatory".
The testing in Bangladesh comes as the company faces thousands of lawsuits claiming that its talc products caused cancer.
Johnson & Johnson said on Thursday that its talc is routinely tested by both suppliers and independent labs to ensure that it is free of asbestos.
"All talc in India is sourced and exclusively sold in India and surrounding markets - including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives - and fully meets the regulatory standards of the Government of India", it said.
Gatwick disruption: How will police catch the drone menace?
Police say they are still searching for those responsible for the unprecedented disruption at Gatwick Airport.
But the drones that were flown over the airfield have not been captured and have not been seen since Thursday night.
Endangering the safety of an aircraft is a criminal offence that can carry a prison sentence.
So how will police find those responsible?
Read more here.
US stocks extend falls
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is now trading down 250.44 points, or 1.10%, at 22,609.16.
The Nasdaq is down 2.25%, or 147.03 points, at 6,381.37.
The S&P 500 is down 1.09% at 2,440.56.
Christmas carollers sing rail delay woes
Video content
Fed-up commuters have taken their revenge against Transpennine Express (TPE) by setting their woes to song.
Friends of Mossley Station's Ellie Shember-Critchley said the group had decided to "get a bit mischievous about things".
Their songs include a version of The Twelve Days of Christmas, which speaks of "three crowded carriages, two cancelled stops, and a late train to [Manchester] Piccadilly".
A TPE spokesman said while there had been "some cancellations to services over recent months, we have put in place changes that have already started to bring about improvements to the reliability".
What do Mario Draghi's ties mean?
Does the European Central Bank's president's dress style mean anything? Credit Agricole reckons it does.
Gatwick open again
Gatwick is officially open for business again after the latest drone disruption a couple of hours ago.
Aircraft were left circling above the area during the latest alert, which came at about 17:10 GMT. Flights resumed less than 90 minutes later.
A spokeswoman for the airport said the suspension was only as a precaution.
He said military measures had been put in place that meant it was safe to reopen.
Read more here
Oil price slide continues
Oil prices have very much gone the way of markets today. They are currently at their lowest level since the third quarter of last year and on track for a whopping loss of 10% in this week alone.
Brent crude is currently 0.2% lower at $54 a barrel while US oil is more or less flat at $46.05 a barrel.
Investors are still concerned about a global oversupply with oil cartel Opec's pledge to cut production doing little to reassure them.
"Opec folks are not doing a good job of convincing the international oil community that they are going to be a strong advocate of their supply cut program," said Bob Yawger, director of futures at Mizuho.
Why are US markets so jittery?
Mike Loewengart, vice-president of investment strategy at E*Trade Financial says "all the known issues that the investors have been digesting for the last few weeks" have come together to scare investors.
"We have the prospect of a government shutdown today. We have more shake ups within the Trump administration," he says.
Wall St takes a tumble
Well the pre-Christmas rally didn't last long.
All three main indexes have now turned negative. The Dow Jones is down 0.6%, the S&P 500 is 0.9% lower whilst the Nasdaq has tumbled 1.8% with tech stocks some of the biggest losers today.
Northern Rail admits it's 'not acceptable'
David Brown is the managing director of Northern Rail. He admits the service they have offered in parts of 2018 has not been acceptable.
Video content
What's the worst rail line in the UK?
Is the Ormskirk to Preston line the worst railway in the UK?
Since the timetable changes in May, more than 2,000 services have been cancelled between the two towns in north west England, a figure that rises every day.
In exclusive data analysed for the BBC, 5,712 trains were timetabled to run during the six-and-a-half-month period.
But up until Saturday 15 December, only 3,701 operated. That meant a third of services simply vanished.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, says the route operator, Northern, should now be put on final warning.
Gatwick drone is back
Flights at Gatwick have been suspended again due to new "suspected drone sighting", a spokesman says.
Read more on this breaking story here
FTSE ekes out a small gain
The FTSE 100 has just about managed to end today higher. It finished 0.14% higher at 6,721.17.
But as you can see from the previous post, it's had a pretty lacklustre December.
FTSE chart
Here's the chart for the FTSE over the past month, showing the fall which began at the start of December.
Thanks for the suggestions