Arbeidsledigheten i Storbritannia gjorde et hopp på 164.000 fra august til oktober, den kraftigste økningen siden 1991. Indeksen Footsie 100 snudde brått etter to dagers oppgang. Finanskrisen har for lengst nådd realøkonomien.

In the three months to August, unemployment grew by 164,000 to 1.79 million – the fastest rise since 1991 – while the number of people claiming jobless benefit rose by 31,800 in the three months to September.

Across other markets, focus shifted from the global banking bailout that has been consuming investors to the wider economy and fears that a recession will soon envelop leading industrialised nations.

Jobless shock sends London shares diving