Markets afternoon briefing

View an online version of this email here.  All times are London time: Wednesday Dec 31 2008 FT.com - Financial Markets News Wall Street stocks set for year-end sell-off Dec 31 2008 14:13 Wall Street stocks were set to bring one of their worst years on record to an end with more selling, although a better-than-expected reading of unemployment data could help pare the losses. Read more » Footsie suffers worst year Dec 31 2008 13:05 London's leading stocks endured their worst annual falls in at least 24 years, while in Europe and Asia, some markets ended the year by notching up their worst performances since records began Read more » Commodity markets in worst annual fall Dec 31 2008 12:33 Oil and gold fell in the final trading hours of 2008 as investors reflected on the worst year for commodity markets since modern records began Read more » Volatile 2008 for foreign exchange Dec 31 2008 12:42 The pound steadied on Wednesday, pulling back from a record low against the euro and a six-and-a-half year trough against the dollar amid thin trading as a dramatic year on the currency markets drew to an end Read more » Europe caps a dismal year Dec 31 2008 13:06 Stocks in Europe had their worst annual falls in more than 20 years in 2008, while in Asia some markets ended the year on Tuesday by notching up their worst performance since records began Read more » Asia stock markets hit by 40% losses Dec 31 2008 08:35 Stocks in Japan and South Korea ended the last trading day of the year yesterday by notching up annual falls of more than 40 per cent, their worst yearly result since records began Read more » ABOUT THIS EMAIL You have received this email because you have signed up for this briefing on FT.com Manage subscriptions | Unsubscribe | Change your email address Change whether you receive this email as HTML or plain text | Forward this email to a friend Privacy policy | Advertise | Contact © Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2008. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. The Financial Times Limited, registered in England and Wales number 227590. Registered office: Number One Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HL. VAT number GB 278 5371 21.