Moving away from the gloom for a moment - admittedly difficult since the FTSE 100 is now 98.2 points lower at 5073.7 - there are some bright spots.
For one, Admiral is up more than 6% at 751p after news of rising car insurance premiums.
Analysts at UBS commented: "The AA released some positive data on UK motor insurance premium rates last night. It shows a rise of 3% for comprehensive and 5.4% for non-comprehensive cover [from the first to the second quarter]. The AA believes the upward trend in premiums will continue.
"We believe Admiral's business model shows some real defensive qualities, given that motor insurance is a required purchase. We see little balance sheet risk and any weakness at Confused.com is already in consensus forecasts.
"With Admiral's shares dropping below 700p momentarily yesterday, we believe this is good buying opportunity."
Interdealer broker Icap has climbed nearly 5% after a positive update, while among the mid-caps, upbeat trading news has lifted Bluebay Asset Management by 11% and pubs group JD Wetherspoon by 6.5%.
Energy group International Power is up 2% at 427.5p after JP Morgan began coverage with an overweight rating and 540p price target. It said: "International Power is our preferred UK play on higher power prices and a tightening supply environment globally."
