Economics / Markets

The UK economy has exited its longest recession since records began, with GDP growth of 0.1% in the final quarter of 2009.

The FTSE 100 opened lower, down 39.78 points or 0.76% to 5220 over worries about global growth following announcements in China and the US.

In London, markets opened lower this morning as fears grew over the impact of banking regulation.

The UK opposition Conservative party is likely to follow the lead of Barack Obama , US president, and introduce similar trading curbs for banks based in the City if elected, George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, said Thursday night.

Public debt remains at a post-war record according to official figures released today, but the data also suggest the economy is stabilising, head of macroeconomics at PricewaterhouseCoopers(PwC) says.

China's economy grew by a greater-than-expected 8.7% in 2009 - putting the country on course to overtake Japan as the world's second biggest economy.

The head of Britain's biggest bank, HSBC, has criticised the Government's handling of the economy and called for austerity to get the country back on track.

The FTSE 100 rose sharply Thursday following promising economic news from China.

US shares tumbled in early trading on the back of disappointing results for three major banks and reports of a significant tightening in China's monetary policy.

UK pharmaceuticals rose in early trading after speculation mounted President Barrack Obama's healthcare reforms could be thwarted by the Republicans.