Dow slips back but markets rally in Asia and Europe, the dollar strengthens, and commodities fall, after US rate rise * Christmas comes early to the City * But commodity prices slide again * Photos: Asian markets bounce * Introduction: Fed rate rise doesn’t cause alarm (yet) * Fed ends its dithering * Full story: first US interest rate rise since 2006 5.53pm GMT OVER IN ATHENS THERE HAS BEEN SOME COMMOTION THIS AFTERNOON BETWEEN GREECE AND ITS CREDITORS. Our correspondent Helena Smith reports: In a highly embarrassing move, the leftist-led government has had to withdraw its much-touted “parallel economic program” - outlining measures to ease the debt-stricken country’s humanitarian crisis – under threat of having its next aid disbursement withheld. The program had been central to prime minister Alexis Tsipras’ promise that while his government had been forced to swallow the bitter pill of austerity – the price of being bailed out to the tune of €86bn this summer - harsh reforms would be offset with assistance for the most needy. Almost immediately there was uproar. 4.58pm GMT With the Federal Reserve removing the uncertainty clouding markets by finally raising US interest rates, European markets responded favourably to the news. But an opening fall on Wall Street - which had surged in the immediate aftermath of Wednesday’s Fed move - took some of the shine off, and European shares ended off their best levels. The rise in the US dollar following the announcement of dearer borrowing costs hit commodity prices, with Brent crude down 0.5%, and left energy shares lower. The closing scores showed: Continue reading...
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