Afternoon Markets: FTSE slides as Brown admits recession is looming

The FTSE 100 fell 4% this afternoon as Prime Minister Gordon Brown admitted the UK economy is heading...

The FTSE 100 fell 4% this afternoon as Prime Minister Gordon Brown admitted the UK economy is heading for recession. This followed similar comments by BoE governor Mervyn King this morning, which pushed the pound into freefall against the dollar and caused it to hit a 16-year nadir. Brown promised to take steps to take the strain off homeowners facing repossessions by issuing new guidance for the courts. Kazakhmys and Vedanta continued to lead the laggers in afternoon trading, down 13.93% and 12.55% respectively. They were joined by RBS, BSkyB and the London Stock Exchange, which all l...