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Honda and Nissan were poised Monday to announce the start of talks on a merger to help the Japanese giants catch up with Chinese rivals and Tesla on electric vehicles.Their collaboration would create the world’s third largest automaker, expanding development of EVs and self-driving tech while coming to the rescue of struggling Nissan.The pair have not released any details publicly but it was widely reported in Japanese media that they would sign a memorandum of understanding on Monday afternoon.Honda and Nissan — Japan’s number two and three automakers after Toyota — are aiming to finalise a merger deal in June 2025, several media outlets said.Mitsubishi Motors, which could join the new holding company early next year, is also expected to take part in Monday’s announcement, after Honda and Nissan hold board meetings.In the morning, the presidents of Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors told the industry and transport ministries of their plan to start negotiations, Kyodo News reported.Honda and Nissan’s partnership could include a manufacturing tie-up where they build vehicles at each other’s plants, Kyodo said, citing sources close to the matter.Lacklustre consumer spending and stiff competition in several markets is making life hard for many automakers.Business has been especially tough for foreign brands in China, where electric vehicle manufacturers such as BYD are leading the way as demand grows for less polluting vehicles.China overtook Japan as the biggest vehicle exporter last year, helped by government support for EVs.”We hope Japanese companies will take steps to respond to these changes and take measures to survive and win amid international competition,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said Monday.He declined to comment on the merger reports but highlighted the “importance of strengthening competitiveness in areas such as… batteries and in-vehicle software”.Debt-laden Nissan last month announced thousands of job cuts as it reported a 93 percent plunge in first-half net profit, making a merger with Honda welcome news.But Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn has also reportedly sensed an opportunity.Foxconn, which builds devices for tech companies including Apple’s iPhones, first unsuccessfully approached Nissan with a bid to acquire a majority stake, according to Bloomberg.Then a Taiwanese media outlet said Foxconn’s Jun Seki — a former Nissan executive — had visited France to ask Renault to sell its 35 percent share of Nissan, although reports later said this pursuit had been put on pause.Honda and Nissan had already agreed in March to explore a strategic partnership on software and components for EVs among other technologies.This partnership was joined in August by Mitsubishi Motors, of which Nissan is a majority shareholder.Nissan has weathered a turbulent decade, including the 2018 arrest of former boss Carlos Ghosn, who later jumped bail and fled Japan concealed in a music equipment box.Kyodo said that Honda would ask Nissan to achieve a “V-shaped recovery” in performance as a condition for the merger.

Social media users in Vietnam on platforms including Facebook and TikTok will need to verify their identities as part of strict new internet regulations that critics say further undermine freedom of expression in the communist country.The law, which comes into force on Christmas Day, will compel tech giants operating in Vietnam to store user data, provide it to authorities on request, and remove content the government regards as “illegal” within 24 hours.Decree 147, as it is known, builds on a 2018 cybersecurity law that was sharply criticised by the United States, European Union and internet freedom advocates who said it mimics China’s repressive censorship of the internet.Vietnam’s hardline administration generally moves swiftly to stamp out dissent and arrest critics, especially those who find an audience on social media.In October, blogger Duong Van Thai — who had almost 120,000 followers on YouTube, where he regularly recorded livestreams critical of the government — was jailed for 12 years on charges of publishing anti-state information. Months earlier, leading independent journalist Huy Duc, the author of one of the most popular blogs in Vietnam — which took aim at the government on issues including media control and corruption — was arrested.His posts “violated interests of the state”, authorities said.Critics say that decree 147 will also expose dissidents who post anonymously to the risk of arrest.”Many people work quietly but effectively in advancing the universal values of human rights,” Ho Chi Minh City-based blogger and rights activist Nguyen Hoang Vi told AFP.She warned that the new decree “may encourage self-censorship, where people avoid expressing dissenting views to protect their safety — ultimately harming the overall development of democratic values” in the country.Le Quang Tu Do, of the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), told state media that decree 147 would “regulate behaviour in order to maintain social order, national security, and national sovereignty in cyberspace”.- Game over -Aside from the ramifications for social media firms, the new laws also include curbs on gaming for under-18s, designed to prevent addiction.Game publishers are expected to enforce a time limit of an hour per game session and not more than 180 minutes a day for all games.Nguyen Minh Hieu, a 17-year-old high school student in Hanoi who admits he’s addicted to gaming, told AFP that the new restrictions would be “really tough” to follow — and to enforce.Games are “designed to be addictive” he said. “We often spend hours and hours playing match after match.” Just over half of Vietnam’s 100 million population regularly plays such games, says data research firm Newzoo.A large proportion of the population is also on social media, with the MIC estimating the country has around 65 million Facebook users, 60 million on YouTube and 20 million on TikTok.Under the new laws, these tech titans — along with all “foreign organisations, enterprises and individuals” — must verify users’ accounts via their phone numbers or Vietnamese identification numbers, and store that information alongside their full name and date of birth.They should provide it on demand to the MIC or the powerful ministry of public security.The decree also says that only verified accounts can livestream, impacting the exploding number of people earning a living through social commerce on sites such as TikTok.Neither Facebook parent company Meta, YouTube owner Google, nor TikTok replied to requests for comment from AFP.Human Rights Watch is calling on the government to repeal the “draconian” new decree, which the campaign group said threatens access to information and freedom of expression.”Vietnam’s new Decree 147 and its other cybersecurity laws neither protect the public from any genuine security concerns nor respect fundamental human rights,” said Patricia Gossman, its associate Asia director. “Because the Vietnamese police treat any criticism of the Communist Party of Vietnam as a national security matter, this decree will provide them with yet another tool to suppress dissent.”

Asian markets rose Monday after big gains on Wall Street, with traders welcoming below-forecast US inflation data that tempered worries that the Federal Reserve will take a more hawkish tone with interest rates next year.A holiday-thinned week got off to a healthy start after last week’s sell-off sparked by the US central bank’s outlook that suggested officials will not lower borrowing costs as much as previously hoped over the next 12 months.Sharp losses in reaction to the forecasts were pared after data showed the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation, came in at 2.4 percent on-year in November.While the reading was up slightly from October, it was lower than expected, providing some optimism that policymakers were winning the battle against prices and would have room to keep cutting rates.The figures led to a pullback in US Treasury bond yields that had jumped last week to their highest levels since May, helped by comments from Chicago Fed chief Austan Goolsbee, who expressed confidence that inflation was returning to the bank’s two percent target.Still, there remains some trepidation among investors as Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House, pledging to cut taxes, slash regulations and impose tariffs on imports, which some economists warn could reignite inflation.All three main indexes in New York ended more than one percent higher.Asia followed suit, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei and Manila all in the green.The dollar also held losses suffered in the wake of the PCE data, with the yen, pound and euro all stronger than Thursday.Investors were also cheered by news that US lawmakers had reached a deal to avert a Christmastime government shutdown following marathon talks on Friday.The last-minute scramble came after Trump and billionaire Elon Musk pressured Republicans to abandon an earlier bipartisan funding compromise. Lawmakers then spent several days trying to hammer out another deal, with massive halts to government services hanging in the balance.Non-essential operations would have ground to a halt if no deal had been struck, with up to 875,000 workers furloughed and 1.4 million more required to work without pay.”This agreement represents a compromise, which means neither side got everything it wanted,” President Joe Biden said on signing the bill on Saturday.”But it rejects the accelerated pathway to a tax cut for billionaires that Republicans sought.”- Key figures around 0200 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 percent at 39,075.07Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 19,790.67Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,372.40Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0438 from $1.0431 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2581 from $1.2567Dollar/yen: UP at 156.47 yen from 156.45 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.95 pence from 82.98 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $69.78 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.4 percent at $73.21 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 1.2 percent at 42,840.26 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,084.61 (close)

Thousands of selfie-taking Ho Chi Minh City residents crammed into train carriages Sunday as the traffic-clogged business hub celebrated the opening of its first-ever metro line after years of delays.Huge queues spilled out of every station along the $1.7 billion line that runs almost 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the city centre — with women in traditional “ao dai” dress, soldiers in uniform and couples clutching young children waiting excitedly to board.”I know it (the project) is late, but I still feel so very honoured and proud to be among the first on this metro,” said office worker Nguyen Nhu Huyen after snatching a selfie in her jam-packed train car.”Our city is now on par with the other big cities of the world,” she said.It took 17 years for Vietnam’s commercial capital to reach this point. The project, funded largely by Japanese government loans, was first approved in 2007 and slated to cost just $668 million. When construction began in 2012, authorities promised the line would be up and running in just five years.But as delays mounted, cars and motorbikes multiplied in the city of nine million people, making the metropolis hugely congested, increasingly polluted and time-consuming to navigate.The metro “meets the growing travel needs of residents and contributes to reducing traffic congestion and environmental pollution”, the city’s deputy mayor Bui Xuan Cuong said.Cuong admitted authorities had to overcome “countless hurdles” to get the project over the line.- ‘Frustrating’ delays -According to state media reports, the metro was late because of “slow capital disbursement, unexpected technical problems, personnel difficulties and the Covid-19 pandemic”.”The delays and cost overruns have been frustrating,” said professor Vu Minh Hoang at Fulbright University Vietnam, who warned that with just 14 station stops, the line’s “impact in alleviating traffic will be limited in the short run”.However, it is still a “historic achievement for the city’s urban development”, he added.With lessons learnt, “the construction of future lines will be increasingly easier, faster, and more cost-efficient”, Hoang told AFP.Back on the train, 84-year-old war veteran Vu Thanh told AFP he was happy to experience below ground in a more positive way after spending three years fighting American troops in the city’s famous Cu Chi tunnels, an enormous underground network.”It feels so different from the underground experience I had years ago during the war. It’s so bright and nice here,” he said.Reflecting on the delays, he added: “We built the tunnels to hide from our enemies in the past, so building a tunnel for a train should not be that hard,” he added.”Finally, we made it!”

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said Saturday the government would shut down social network TikTok for at least a year from 2025.”We are going to chase this thug out of our neighbourhood for one year”, Rama told a meeting with Albanian teachers, parents and psychologists in Tirana.The government would launch programmes to “serve the education of students and help parents follow their children’s journey”, he added.The blocking of the controversial social network comes less than a month after a 14-year-old student was killed and another injured in a fight near a school in Tirana.The fight had developed from an online confrontation on social media.The killing sparked a debate in the country among parents, psychologists and educational institutions about the impact of social networks on young people.”In China, TikTok promotes how students can take courses, how to protect nature, how to keep traditions,” said Rama.”But on the TikTok outside China we see only scum and mud. Why do we need this?”Several countries have begun debating measures against TikTok, part of a wider debate on the influence of social media on vulnerable groups, such as children and adolescents.”The problem is not the children but our entire society,” Rama argued.- TikTok’s controversial ‘challenges’ -TikTok’s huge global success has been partly built on the appeal of its “challenges” — an interactive call that invites users to create videos featuring dances, jokes or games that sometimes go viral.The platform attracts young people with a never-ending scroll of ultra-brief videos. It has more than one billion active users worldwide.Neighbouring countries such as Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia have also reported a negative impact of the platform, especially on the youth.At least 22 cases of self-harm among girls from different schools in Kosovo southwestern city of Gjakova reported two months ago were blamed on a TikTok challenge.Two weeks ago, local media in North Macedonia reported that hospital there had treated dozen of teenagers for injuries sustained after attempting the “Superman” TikTok challenge.It involves one child leaping on to the linked arms of a few others.And in Serbia, in the southwestern city of Novi Pazar there were reports that children in several high schools had taken part in a “choking” challenge.A search for this on TikTok now produces a warning message from the platform that some challenges can be dangerous, and links to a short guide on how to spot them.TikTok has faced accusations of espionage in the United States, and is under investigation by the European Union over claims it was used to sway Romania’s presidential election in favour of a far-right candidate.The platform also has been banned for use by personnel in state institutions in several countries.AFP, among more than a dozen other fact-checking organisations, is paid by TikTok in several countries to verify videos that potentially contain false information.

Wall Street stocks bounced higher Friday following a pullback in US Treasury yields as markets braced for a looming US government shutdown.Data showed the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 2.4 percent in the 12 months to November, up from 2.3 percent in October, the Commerce Department said in a statement.But the reading came in lower than expected, prompting a pullback in US Treasury bond yields that had risen after Federal Reserve policy makers signaled earlier this week they expect fewer interest rate cuts in 2025.Stocks fell sharply on Wednesday after the Fed decision.But on Friday, the  broad-based S&P 500 finished at 5,930.85, up 1.1 percent for the day but down about two percent for the week.”We have seen a nice rebound from what was, in our view, an overreaction to the Fed’s outlook on Wednesday,” said Angelo Kourkafas of Edward Jones, pointing to Friday’s inflation data as a supportive factor for equities.Treasury yields pulled back following comments from Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee, who expressed confidence that the PCE data showed that inflation was returning to the Fed’s target of two percent.”Over the next 12 to 18 months, rates can still go down a fair amount,” Goolsbee told CNBC.Investors were also keeping watch on developments in Capitol Hill.US lawmakers raced to stave off a government shutdown set to bite within hours after Donald Trump and Elon Musk sabotaged a bipartisan agreement that would have averted a shutdown.If no deal is struck, the government will cease to be funded at midnight, and non-essential operations will start to grind to halt, with up to 875,000 workers furloughed and 1.4 million more required to work without pay.European stocks finished the day lower although they cut their losses as Wall Street rebounded, with data showing tepid retail sales in the UK in the runup to Christmas dampening sentiment.Among individual companies, Nike dipped 0.2 percent as it reported lower earnings while new CEO Elliott Hill outlined steps to get the slumping sports giant back on track. Analysts pointed to Nike’s near-term outlook, which suggests a turnaround will not be quick.Carnival jumped 6.4 percent following an upbeat 2025 forecast that included a 20 percent rise in profits to $2.3 billion.- Key figures around 2150 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 1.2 percent at 42,840.26 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 1.1 percent at 5,930.85 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.0 percent at 19,572.60 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,084.61 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,274.48 (close) Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.4 percent at 19,884.75 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 38,701.90 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 19,720.70 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,368.07 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0431 from $1.0363 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2567 from $1.2502Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.45 yen from 157.44 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.98 pence from 82.28 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $69.46 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $72.94 per barrelburs-jmb/bgs

President Joe Biden’s administration said Friday that it has cemented deals for billions in funding to South Korean semiconductor giant Samsung Electronics and Texas Instruments to boost their chipmaking facilities in the United States.US officials have been working to solidify Biden’s legacy to bolster domestic semiconductor manufacturing ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s White House return — and these agreements are among the latest efforts to do so.The United States has been trying to reduce its dependence on other countries for semiconductors, while also seeking to maintain its scientific and technological edge as competition with China intensifies.Samsung’s award of up to $4.7 billion in direct funding goes towards its effort to grow its Texas presence into a full-fledged operation for developing and producing leading-edge chips, said the US Commerce Department.The funding will supplement the company’s investment of more than $37 billion in the coming years, the department added.Samsung’s expansion will help “ensure we have a steady, domestic supply of the most advanced semiconductors that are essential to AI and national security, while also creating tens of thousands of good-paying jobs,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement.National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard added that Samsung is “the only semiconductor company that is a leader in both advanced memory and advanced logic chips.”In a separate notice, the Commerce Department said it also had finalized an award of up to $1.6 billion for Texas Instruments, supporting its efforts to build new facilities.Raimondo noted that shortages of current-generation semiconductors were a problem during the supply chain disruptions sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that TI now plans to grow its US capacity in making these devices.The Biden administration has unveiled billions in grants through the CHIPS and Science Act, a major law passed during the veteran Democrat’s term aimed at strengthening the US semiconductor industry.Officials have managed to get many deals across the finish line before Trump returns to the Oval Office, awarding the vast majority of more than $36 billion in proposed incentives that have been allocated.The finalized deals mean funds can be disbursed as companies hit project milestones.

Wall Street stocks bounced higher Friday despite data showing an uptick in inflation and a looming US government shutdown.Data showed the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 2.4 percent in the 12 months to November, up from 2.3 percent in October, the Commerce Department said in a statement.The core reading of PCE price index — the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure — that excludes highly volatile food and energy prices stayed steady at 2.8 percent.Wall Street’s main stock indices initially fell on the news, continuing a spiral lower after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday signalled fewer cuts than had been expected for 2025 as inflation remains sticky above its two percent target.However they bounced higher during morning trading.While the annual inflation measures ticked higher, they dropped month-on-month, providing some relief to investors.Core prices rose just 0.1 percent from October, compared to monthly increases of 0.2 or 0.3 percent the previous five months, pointing to a slight slowdown in what is sure to be welcome news for the US central bank.New York Fed President John Williams, a voting member of the Fed committee which sets rates, told CNBC that the data shows “the disinflation process is continuing” and that it offers “a little bit of good news this month”.Jochen Stanzl, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets, also called the data “good news,” say it will lead to a moderation in the increase in the PCE price index over a longer term.”Today’s PCE data serves as quite a reprieve after this week’s sell-off,” he said. Investors were keeping a watch also on developments in Washington.The House of Representatives has rejected a Republican-led funding bill to avert a government shutdown, with federal agencies due to run out of cash Friday night and cease operations from this weekend.The legislation would have kept the government open through March and suspended the borrowing limit for president-elect Donald Trump’s first two years in office.O’Hare noted US Treasury yields fell overnight, “driven by some safe-haven trading that stemmed from the ongoing weakness in the stock market and heightened political uncertainty” following the rejection of the government funding bill.Friday’s Wall Street rebound could also be driven by it being a so-called triple witching day when stock, index and index futures contracts expire. With more than $6 trillion in options estimated to expire, trading could prove volatile. European stocks finished the day lower although they cut their losses as Wall Street rebounded, with data showing tepid retail sales in the UK in the runup to Christmas dampening sentiment.Oil prices, which have also fallen since the Fed’s Wednesday announcement, continued their slide lower.- Key figures around 1630 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 1.4 percent at 42,947.20 points New York – S&P 500: UP 1.4 percent at 5,948.04New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.4 percent at 19,634.69 London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,084.61 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,274.48 (close) Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.3 percent at 19,916.56 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 38,701.90 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 19,720.70 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,368.07 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0414 from $1.0364 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2576 from $1.2496Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.32 yen from 157.35 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.83 pence from 82.91 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $69.32 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.1 percent at $72.81 per barrelburs-rl/gv

Global stock markets slid on Friday as investors grow concerned about the economic outlook for next year and a looming US government shutdown.The latest US data failed to comfort those worries, with a slight increase in the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation.The Fed this week trimmed US borrowing costs but signalled fewer cuts than had been expected for 2025 as inflation remains sticky above its two percent target.The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 2.4 percent in the 12 months to November, up from 2.3 percent in October, the Commerce Department said in a statement.The core measure that excludes highly volatile food and energy prices stayed steady at 2.8 percent.”The key takeaway from the report is that there wasn’t any improvement in the year-over-year readings for PCE and core-PCE inflation,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.He noted that on Wednesday “the Fed implied with its words and guidance that further rate cuts can wait until there is more progress on inflation.”Stronger-than-expected US economic growth data on Thursday did nothing to dispel concerns that the central bank will keep rates higher for longer.”This is bad news for the US economy, because higher interest rates over a prolonged period are a huge drag on growth,” said CMC Markets analyst Jochen Stanzl.”Equity markets have started to price in lower growth in 2025, when the Fed will still be trying to reach its 2 percent inflation target,” he added.New York’s main indices opened lower on Friday, with the Dow sliding 0.4 percent.European stocks were down more than one percent in afternoon trading, with data showing tepid retail sales in the UK in the runup to Christmas dampening sentiment.Investors are keeping a watch also on developments in Washington.The House of Representatives has rejected a Republican-led funding bill to avert a government shutdown, with federal agencies due to run out of cash Friday night and cease operations from this weekend.The legislation would have kept the government open through March and suspended the borrowing limit for president-elect Donald Trump’s first two years in office.O’Hare noted US Treasury yields fell overnight, “driven by some safe-haven trading that stemmed from the ongoing weakness in the stock market and heightened political uncertainty” following the rejection of the government funding bill.Oil prices, which have also fallen since the Fed’s Wednesday announcement, slid lower.- Key figures around 1430 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 42,154.39 points New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.5 percent at 5,836.34New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 19,196.25 London – FTSE 100: DOWN 1.1 percent at 8,016.53Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 1.1 percent at 7,214.44 Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 1.3 percent at 19,716.14Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 38,701.90 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 19,720.70 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,368.07 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0391 from $1.0364 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2545 from $1.2496Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.41 yen from 157.35 yen Euro/pound: UP at 83.83 pence from 82.91 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.8 percent at $68.85 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $72.39 per barrelburs-rl/lth

European stock markets slid for a second session running Friday and the dollar dropped as investors grow concerned about the economic outlook for next year.All eyes will be on US inflation data later in the session to see if it alters interest-rate cut expectations for the world’s biggest economy.The Federal Reserve this week trimmed US borrowing costs but signalled fewer cuts than had been expected for 2025.Oil prices have also fallen since the Fed announcement.”Markets remain cautious ahead of US inflation figures,” noted Derren Nathan, head of equity research at stockbrokers Hargreaves Lansdown.Paris and Frankfurt were down about 1.2 percent in late morning trade, while London lost 1.1 percent. All three indices shed similar amounts by the close Thursday.Leading Asian equity markets ended the week with slight losses after Wall Street steadied.Traders are awaiting the release Friday of data on US personal consumption expenditure — the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation and the last major piece of data for the year.Wall Street provided a meek lead Thursday, having squandered an early bounce from Wednesday’s plunge that had been sparked by the Fed’s changed outlook over rates.Data showing a forecast-topping rise in US economic growth and consumer spending did little to ease concerns that the Fed would keep borrowing costs higher for longer.Official figures Friday revealed tepid retail sales in the UK in the runup to Christmas, hurting local government efforts to grow the British economy.Investors are keeping a watch also on developments in Washington.The House of Representatives has rejected a Republican-led funding bill to avert a government shutdown, with federal agencies due to run out of cash Friday night and cease operations from this weekend.The legislation would have kept the government open through March and suspended the borrowing limit for president-elect Donald Trump’s first two years in office.- Key figures around 1045 GMT -London – FTSE 100: DOWN 1.1 percent at 8,018.56 pointsParis – CAC 40: DOWN 1.2 percent at 7,206.22 Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 1.2 percent at 19,725.94Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 38,701.90 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 19,720.70 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,368.07 (close)New York – Dow: UP less than 0.1 percent at 42,342.24 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0388 from $1.0364 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2509 from $1.2496Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.73 yen from 157.35 yen Euro/pound: UP at 83.06 pence from 82.91 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.0 percent at $68.72 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.0 percent at $72.19 per barrel