FTSE in freefall as recession looms

Almost £49bn (€61.4bn) was wiped off the value of blue-chip shares today as fears mounted about the scale of the recession facing the UK and world economies.

Official figures revealing a worse-than-expected 0.5% third quarter fall in UK economic growth – the first negative reading in 16 years – compounded an already poor start to trading, with the FTSE 100 Index down 9% at one stage.