HOW BRITAIN'S BIGGEST HAVE PERFORMED

Economic problems in Asia sparked a slump in stock markets across Europe and the US, with the FT-SE 100 falling 27.9 points to 4,817.5 on Friday and 1.7 per cent on the week. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index plunged 9 per cent in two days, producing a knock-on effect on HSBC Holdings, Standard Chartered and Cable & Wireless, all of which have large investments in Asia. The danger for European stocks is that Asian countries will devalue their currencies to such a point that it begins to have an impact on European exports.

Concerns that interest rates may rise in the UK won't go away, with tomorrow's report on the money supply being the only significant economic statistics out this week.

Among companies reporting half-year earnings this week are the oil and chemical company Burmah Castrol, the palm-top computer maker Psion and the construction company Wilson Connolly.

Copyright: IOS & Bloomberg