FTSE 100

VALUE AMID VOLATILITY

US investors jettisoned shares in early trading following a warning from consumer giant Walmart, piling on the pressure following weaker than expected German economic growth.

Updated: The FTSE 100 got off to a weak start on Friday but stablised by mid-morning following efforts in several European countries to calm volatility in share trading.

Bulls triumph over bears, Fed freezes short-term rates, and pension funds take a beating from stock market turmoil...our round-up of the news from the nationals.

The FTSE 100 climbed this morning and Asian and US markets rallied strongly overnight as the Federal Reserve announced it would hold interest rates at close to zero until 2013.

The FTSE 100 has entered bear market territory, having now fallen 20% from recent highs after the index lost as much as 5% in early trading on Tuesday.

The FTSE 100 dipped below the 5,000 mark this morning after a short-lived rally at the start of trading.

Heavy losses in the battered US markets have spread to the UK and sent the index of 100 leading shares down more than 3%.

The FTSE 100 is in the black in early trading after falling 1% on opening, after S&P's downgrade of US debt sparked a further share sell-off across the globe.

Paul Spencer passed his five-year anniversary on the Rensburg UK Mid Cap Growth fund earlier this year after rejoining the group in 2006 boasting top-decile returns over all time periods.