London View

Japan Falls into Recession, Quindell Searches for Saviours

Japanese stocks marked their biggest daily drop since August on Monday, helping the Yen rebound from a fresh seven-year low against the Dollar which was touched after the news that Japan unexpectedly fell into recession in the third quarter.  The Dollar initially rallied as high as 117.06 Yen, but gave up those gains in extremely volatile trade as the Nikkei extended losses. The Dollar was last down about 0.4 percent at 115.74.   U.S. stocks posted a fourth straight week of increases but ended Friday little changed as losses in healthcare shares offset gains in energy.  The Dow closed 18 points lower and ended the week at 17634, while the S&P500 closed the week at 2039.  The Euro added 0.2 percent to $1.2542, holding well above a two-year low of $1.2358 touched on Nov. 7.

In commodities trading, U.S. crude dropped about 0.8% to $75.18 a barrel, moving back toward a four-year low of $73.25 marked on Friday. Brent crude shed 1.1 percent to $78.55.  Spot gold edged up slightly on the day to $1,189.08 an ounce, after its 2.5 percent surge on Friday on short-covering and fund buying.

Within the equity space Insurance services company Quindell has begun talks with hedge funds in a bid to raise funds, reports have claimed. The UK-listed company, which has seen its share price tumble 76% in the year-to-date, is believed, according to the Sunday Times, to have met "at least two" hedge funds "in recent weeks" to hold talks over a potential injection of cash.  The stock is currently trading down 7% trading at 63p per share.