Russia

Russia's central bank is considering cutting interest rates at its next meeting later this month, shortly after raising them to 17% in an emergency move to halt inflation.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil has dropped to below $46 in early trading, a fresh six-year low, as the commodity's collapse showed no sign of slowing down.

The precipitous decline in the oil price has continued this morning, with a further slump in Brent crude seeing it trade below $50 for the first time in more than five years.

Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi, the most significant voice in the OPEC cartel, has said the group will not cut production even if the price of oil falls to $20 a barrel.

Vladimir Putin has said Russia could take as long as two years to recover from its burgeoning economic crisis.

The FTSE 100 has endured a volatile session as the impact of the falling oil price and Russian currency collapse continue to reverberate around global markets.

Russia has raised its interest rates to 17% to prevent further depreciation of the ruble, which has halved in value against the dollar this year.

A number of emerging market countries have already started implementing significant reforms which could spur economic growth, according to Templeton's Mark Mobius.

A volatile year ahead for investors

Europe's economy is clearly deteriorating, with the stand-off between Germany and the peripheral nations continuing to hamper attempts to reform the region.