Hung parliament uncertainty causes drop in shares

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Kristian Walsh

Shares fell in London this morning after the inevitability of a hung parliament brought much uncertainty to the market.

The FTSE 100 fell more than 1 per cent – its lowest level since February. It follows a 2 per cent decline for the pound against the dollar as the uncertainty of who will be in parliament was replicated by investors. Financial firms were the biggest fallers.

It is the second financial blow in as many days for the stock market after the Greek debt crisis came to a riotous head on Wednesday.

Despite a vote being passed to save the country from bankruptcy yesterday, worries over the Greek government’s ability to comply have consequently have widened the possibility of the crisis spreading to the UK, Portugal and Spain.

Credit: Metro Centric/Flickr

Experts added that a weak coalition between Labour and the Liberal Democrats could be the worst result for the UK’s sovereign credit rating with the chances of a Conservative overall majority all but over as of Friday morning.

ING Bank’s James Knightley said: “There is going to be a lot of discussion between the parties over coming days, with the uncertainty likely to increase the risk of very volatile markets.

“The worst thing for markets would be a coalition government failing in a few months and a new election being called. This would intensify the pressure on ratings agencies to downgrade the UK’s sovereign rating from AAA and make fiscal consolidation even more difficult.”

US markets plunge in Greek riot aftermath

Posted on May 6, 2010 by Kristian Walsh

The Dow Jones, the index of the US stockmarket, has crashed to an unprecedented low today amid concerns about high levels of European government debt.

Wednesday’s riots in the Greek capital Athens prompted US stocks to drop by more than 990 points – its worst fall since 1987, before starting to recover. The drop was so drastic that it was assumed the drop was a computer fault.

Credit: Ahmed Nawawi/Flickr

Stocks have been fluctuating for the last two weeks, as investors debate the consequences of the growing debt crisis in Europe. European leaders have pledged to provide Greece with £98.5billion in loans over the next three years, but Greek measures to help cut the debt were met with riots in which three people died.

“There’s no question that Europe and Greece and specifically the fear of contagion is what’s driving the market lower,” said Hank Smith, chief investment officer at Haverford Investments.

“Having said that, we also have to be cognizant that the market was due for a pullback at a minimum, and possibly a correction,” he said.

The euro also plunged to a fresh one-year low against the dollar.

Teenage soldier bitten by police dog

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Andrew Kenyon

Players break through police lines (By Ben Sutherland)

An 18-year -old soldier is recovering in hospital today after he was badly bitten by a police dog in last weekend’s violence at Hillsborough stadium.

Jack Sandall of Ladybank View, Eckington who is a private in the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers, claims he was bitten on the forearm by the dog as he left Hillsborough’s North Stand as violence erupted after Sheffield Wednesday lost a relegation battle.

Mr Sandall is one of five Owls fans who ended up on the same hospital ward in Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital with dog bites after the violence on Sunday.

He suffered nerve damage and doctors have told him it will take three months to heal.

He told JusNews today: “I’ve got a big gaping hole on the top of my forearm and a gaping hole underneath it as well.

“I’ve lost movement in my wrist. They said it chewed through my arm, my nerves and muscles.”

“It will take three months to recover.”

The fans claim they were bitten by police Rottweilers as violence flared outside Hillsborough Stadium on Sunday, when the team dropped out of the Championship.

Four of the fans are still on Huntsman Four ward at the hospital being treated for bites, while one has been discharged.

The former Eckington comprehensive school pupil is based in Hampshire but was due to go to Germany this summer, however it may have to be postponed.

South Yorkshire Police later arrested the five men in hospital on suspicion of causing violent disorder.

Det Supt Martin Scothern, of South Yorkshire Police, said officers were forced to step up their response and change the nature of policing once the disorder became serious.

He said: “Outside there was a signifcant amount of disorder involving probably between 150 and 225 indiviudals who were involved in damaging police vehicles and members of the public’s property and throwing missiles at the police.

“The dogs were used when we got to a level on the disorder curve that that meant that it was no longer appropriate to use conventional policing.”

Wednesday relegation marred by violence

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Jon Close

Sheffield Wednesday could have exited the Championship league on Sunday night with their heads held high, but violence on the pitch following the game may have stained their reputation.

The game was the last chance to avoid relegation from the championship league for both Sheffield Wednesday who needed a victory and their opponents, Crystal Palace, who only needed a draw to remain safe.

It was a tense, evenly matched game, Crystal Palace twice going ahead and twice Wednesday equalized and were threatening to take the lead right up to the final whistle.

As Crystal Palace were celebrating on the pitch things went from bad to worse for Wednesday as fans broke through the police lines and violence erupted between rivals fans, stewards and officials.

Eagles defender Clint Hill was also allegedly assaulted in the melee. The violence continued outside the stadium with fans throwing missiles at police lines and stewards and melees breaking out in the city center later in the night. Police arrested 7 people for violent disorder and one for assault and are confident thy will make many more arrests thanks to CCTV footage.

Supt Martin Scothern, in charge of policing football in Sheffield, said:

“A number of football supporters, mainly from Sheffield, engaged in violence inside the stadium as the fans came on to the pitch, and outside the stadium.

Although police have not received a complaint from Crystal Palace FC, police are looking into allegations that a Crystal Palace player was assaulted by Sheffield Wednesday fans.

This behavior cannot be tolerated as it damages the reputation of the city”

The FA will now be investigating the violence An FA spokesperson said: “The FA does not condone disorder either outside or inside football stadia and thankfully such problems remain infrequent in the modern game.

“However, any individuals identified as having taken part in any form of disorder should be dealt with appropriately by the authorities and issued with football banning orders as they simply have no place in our game.”

Sheffield Wednesday have vowed that anyone identified in the violence will be banned from Hillsborough for life.