Shares slide as US deadlock drags on

With no agreement reached by lawmakers in the States and the threat of default looming, markets across Europe and Asia have begun the week on a downbeat note. In the UK, the FTSE 100 was down 0.9% or 55 points by 10:30am, at 6,398, with a variety of retailers including Marks & Spencer and SportsDirect all among the worst performers. The losses were mirrored in Europe, where Germany's Dax was down 1.1% and France's CAC 40 was also off 1.1% in morning trading. Overnight, Japan's Nikkei also shed 1.2%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.7%, as speculation continues to build abou...