Pick of the early market news

The FTSE 100 ending Wednesday 1% down at 5,809 points. RSA Insurance Group lost -7.51% while Vedanta Resources dropped -5.52%. Whitbread however saw a 2.15% surge and Sage Group rose 1.66%.

Pessimism abounded across other bourses with the Dow Jones giving away -0.54%. Overnight in Asia, the bears have predominated again.