The FTSE 100 Index fought back from lows below the 4000 barrier today in the wake of figures confirming the official start of the UK recession.

Wall Street waffled before finishing lower today as oil prices also see-sawed and traders weighed lacklustre earnings from Xerox Corp against a surge in housing prices.

WorldCom Inc has agreed to pay investors a record $500m (€428.5m) to settle civil fraud charges over its $11bn (€9.42bn)-dollar accounting scandal, which was the biggest in US corporate history.

Xerox Corp has announced that it has raised more than $1bn through its convertible trust preferred securities offering.