The tech-focused Nasdaq index is down 1.6% in late trading.

The Dow is now flirting with a 600-point loss, down 2.3% today.

Apple is now down 4.8%, as the tech selloff gathers pace. Microsoft has lost 3.1%, as has construction equipment maker Caterpillar.

More reaction to today’s losses:

With barely an hour’s trading to go, Wall Street is bobbing listlessly in the red.

The Dow is currently down 529 points, or 2.2%, at 24,487.

Many analysts are suggesting that Wall Street is entering a bear market, but David Kelly, chief global strategist for JPMorgan Funds, doesn’t agree.

He reckons we’re going through a “very normal” correction.

Kelly don’t think America is heading for recession, as the slowdown in the economy, and the trouble in the market, will deter the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates. It may also encourage the White House to stop the trade war with China too.

Mohamed El-Erian of investment group Allianz believes Donald Trump has helped push the oil price down today.

A little while ago, the US president offered Saudi Arabia some support over the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi last month.

Trump also questioned whether crown prince Mohammed bin Salman knew about the killing -- despite the CIA concluding that he ordered it.

Trump’s intervention will infuriate those pushing for justice for Khashoggi, but it also cuts the chances that Saudi Arabia hit back at the US by slashing oil production (thus the drop in the oil price).

Jim Cramer of CNBC reckons the selloff is partly due to margin calls - demands for investors to put up money to cover losses.

That can often trigger further selling, if investors need to find the cash to hold those existing positions.

Here’s our news story on today’s Wall Street wobbles:

Every stock on the Dow is in the red today, as the gloom sweeps across trading floors.

Apple is the biggest faller, down 3.7%, followed by Goldman Sachs (-3.2%) and Microsoft (-2.6%).

Energy stocks are also dropping, tracking the lower oil price today. Chevron is down 2.5%.

There’s no cheer on Wall Street this afternoon.

The Dow is still deep in the red, down 439 points at 24,577, a drop of 1.7%.

The S&P 500 is down 1.4%, while the Nasdaq has lost 1.26% - dragged down by Apple, amid ongoing worries about iPhone sales.

In London, the FTSE 100 has closed 53 points lower at 6948 points, down 0.75%.

Other European markets were worse hit; Germany’s DAX lost 1.6% and France’s CAC finished 1.2% lower.

A cocktail of worries are hitting stocks, as US investors take cover ahead of Thanksgiving.

Fears over global growth, trade disputes, and the prospect of higher interest rates are all factors.

Marketwatch explains:

These doubts have accumulated to induce fears that we are growing nearer to the end of the current economic expansion, strategists say.

Investors are particularly gloomy about technology companies.

Tech stocks extended a decline that led the market lower Monday, with reports from China adding fuel to the day’s selling after officials in Beijing uncovered widespread evidence of anticompetitive behavior by Korean rivals.

Today’s rout has dragged the US stock market back to its October lows, and rattled Europe too.

Connor Campbell of SpreadEx says:

As a taster of the alarming tech trouble, Apple was down 4.6%, tumbling to a near 7 month low of $177 having been at $230 around 7 weeks ago; Microsoft fell by the same amount, with their Dow sibling Alphabet slipping 2.2%. Investors are concerned that sooner rather than later the sector is going to be fully embroiled in the US-China trade battle, exacerbating the softness caused by reports of a slowdown in iPhone demand.

Obviously this caused the already moody European indices to have a fit. The CAC found itself the wrong side of 4900 as it lost 1.6%, with the DAX hitting a near 2 year nadir after dropping 200 points. The FTSE, meanwhile, slid 90 points, slumping back towards the 6900 lows seen during October’s nightmare.

European stock markets are generally in retreat today, as traders worry about economic growth prospects, the US-China trade war, and Brexit.

In London, the FTSE 100 has shed around 0.7%, while Germany’s DAX has dropped by around 1.5% to a two-year low.

With the oil price down 2%, and Bitcoin sliding, there’s no shortage of nervousness in the markets.

Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at Forex.com, says:

With equities (and cryptocurrencies) tumbling, volatility is clearly there, even if this week will be a quieter one for economic data.

But can volatility remain elevated, especially towards the end of the week with the Thanksgiving holiday being observed on Thursday in the US (and on Friday in Japan)? Clearly some market participants would rather enjoy a long holiday break and await better opportunities next week.

However, this time it may be different, and traders may actually hang around as volatility has not been at these elevated levels for prolonged periods in a while.

Mark Carney refused to be drawn today on whether interest rates might rise or fall after Brexit, saying it all depends on the outcome.

But Professor Costas Milas of Liverpool University argues that borrowing costs are unlikely to rise in 2019, due to its habit of under-estimating UK inflation.

Professor Milas explains:

The BoE targets inflation 2 years into the future. Look at the attached plot where I put together: (a) the Bank’s 2-year inflation forecast based on constant interest rates, (b) the Bank’s 2-year inflation forecast based on market expectations of interest rates and (c) the actual inflation outcome. Unfortunately, both forecasts move in opposite direction to the actual outcome (correlation is negative) which is a real worry.

Nevertheless, under constant interest rates, the Bank has under-predicted CPI inflation by an annual average of 0.38%. Under market expectations of interest rates, however, the Bank has under-predicted CPI inflation by much more, that is, by an annual average of 0.54%. This is telling me that with/without hard-Brexit, it is more likely than not that the policy rate will remain at 0.75% in the next 2 years.

Concerns over Brexit might be assuaged by the latest healthcheck on UK manufacturing.

British factory orders bounced back in November after falling sharply in October, according to the CBI’s monthly survey.

The balance of companies reporting above-average order books, rather than weaker, rose to +10 this month, up from -6 in October.

That suggest UK goods are still in demand, despite the uncertainty over trading conditions after Brexit.

Rain Newton-Smith, CBI Chief Economist, warns that UK firms still need the “right” Brexit deal:

The overwhelming message from business to the Government is to make progress, don’t go backwards.

“We need frictionless trade for our world-beating manufactured goods and a transition period which draws us back from the cliff edge. Anything less than that and jobs and investment could suffer.”

In other news, cryptocurrencies are having a bad day, again.

Bitcoin has slumped by around 7% to below $4,500 - a blow to anyone who piled in when it was ‘worth’ almost $20,000 last December.

Naeem Aslam of Think Markets blames the recent trend of ‘forking’ cryptocurrencies into competing flavours, and the threat that regulators clamp down on ‘initial coin offerings’:

Fundamentally speaking, the current sell-off is due to two main reasons; regulatory pressure and disagreement within the coin developer community, one of the biggest threats. The SEC reminded the crypto world that it has the final say over anything that smells like a security. The department issued civil penalties against two cryptocurrency companies because they failed to register initial coin offerings as securities. Investors will be given their refund and the firms will have to face fines. The fear is that the SEC may not stop here and might take similar action against several companies that adopted a similar path.

The community needs to stick together and work towards a more meaningful fork. This is because, developers, on the one hand, try to convince the world that the supply is limited and, on the other hand, they keep looking at ways of triggering another kind of forks. Forking has become so common that it puts at risk the notion of limited supply altogether.

Today’s hearing showed that the Bank of England remains very worried about a no-deal Brexit, says Hinesh Patel, portfolio manager at Quilter Investors.

Patel explains this would leave the Bank ‘between a rock and a hard place’, with falling demand and rising inflation to balance.

“From the Bank of England’s perspective the biggest concern above all else is the threat of a disorderly Brexit. A tumultuous departure would leave the Bank in the impossible position of trying to manage the risk of rising imported inflation if the pound were to fall further, while also trying to create conditions that are supportive of growth through a difficult period for the economy.

The Bank has been really clear and consistent in pointing out its view that Brexit uncertainty has stunted business investment, a key driver of growth.

Therefore in the event of a disorderly Brexit, Carney and his colleagues would likely anticipate a further shrinkage in business investment and would be tempted to respond with stimulus, but that in turn makes it difficult for them to keep inflation down.

That’s why Mark Carney felt free to welcome Theresa May’s plan, as a transition deal would remove some of the unpredictable risks facing the UK’s economic and financial system.”

Andy Haldane then gives a pithy explanation of Britain’s productivity crisis.

He says that Britain has a longer tail of unproductive firms than other advanced economies. This has become worse since the financial crisis, such that even relatively productive firms in the second decile (the top 10%-19%) have been dragged down.

Firms that were once the dog have joined the tail, Haldane says, to some laughter.

Haldane does love a canine metaphor - in 2012, he compared setting financial regulation to a dog pursuing a frisbee.

Q: Given all the talk about a no-deal Brexit, would it really be a shock if it happened?

Mark Carney says there has been an expectation since the referendum that there won’t be a disorderly Brexit.

The fact is that a substantial proportion of companies, in a wide range of sectors, don’t have contingency plans for a hard Brexit next spring.

Onto wages, and the impact of migration on pay growth.

Bank officials says earnings growth has firmed in recent months, over 3% per year.

Michael Saunders argues that migration has been a source of growth, as workers coming into the UK have been better educated (on average) and brought skills that businesses need.

A drop in inward migration would mean lower potential growth, and could mean lower actual growth too from lower consumer spending and a lack of staff, he warns.

Q: But isn’t there also a link between falling migration and recent pay growth?

Pay is rising because the labour market is tight, Saunders insists.

On business investment, BoE governor Mark Carney says he believes there is more downside risk from a no-deal Brexit than upside risk from a smooth deal.

BoE chief economy Andy Haldane agrees, but also argues that the “investment fundamentals” are bright for many companies.

The potential return on investment is in low-double digits, while the cost of Capex is 2-3%, he explained.

Q: Do businesses have enough time to put credible Brexit contingency plans in place?

BoE committee member Michael Saunders says financial firms have done a lot of work already.

But non-financial firms are very uncertain how they should prepare, and unwilling to spend large amounts on things that turn out to be unnecessarily.

He doubts whether contingency plans could now be drawn up in time.

The risk of a ‘no deal’ Brexit is uncomfortably high, Carney says -- reiterating a point he made in August.

Q: What is the long-term impact of a no-deal Brexit?

Carney says that short-term supply disruption includes queues at Dover, people being confused about how the “grandfathering” of contracts works.

The Bank must distinguish between that, and long-term issues such as impact on demand, and labour supply.

Mary Carney is now taking more questions about a no-deal outcome.

The Bank needs to be in a position to support the UK if we ended up with no deal and no transition, by design or by accident, the governor says.

He warns that some workers and capital could be “stranded”.

There would also be an “economic shock” in Europe, particularly in Ireland, he adds - this wouldn’t just be a problem for the UK.

Carney also agrees with Michael Saunders’ earlier point; most businesses haven’t got contingency plans for no-deal Brexit.

Q: Won’t extending the transition period push up the cost of the Brexit divorce bill (from its current £39bn)?

Mark Carney notes that any extra cost should be weighed against the economic benefits.

Q: Would a longer transition provide businesses with enough confidence to invest?

Business investment has been falling for several quarters, he replies.

An agreement with transition, and with some expectation of a deep economic partnership in the fullness of time, would provide more clarity for business..and one would expect that to support investment over time, he adds.

Q: The [Brexit] text agreement suggests that the transition agreement could be extended until 20xx. Does that concern you, governor?

It narrows it down, replies Mark Carney wryly.

He then explains that this highlights just how long it would take to negotiate all the aspects of the economic partnership, and implement it.

Monetary Policy Committee member Michael Saunders then reiterates his warning about a no-deal Brexit:

Most businesses are not prepared for a no-deal Brexit, and don’t know really how to prepare.

Over the last month or two, as the risk of a no-deal outcome has become more visible, we’ve seen business confidence weaken and rising uncertainty.

And that may have a some negative effect on near-term economic activity.

Deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe warns MPs that the Bank of England can’t solve Brexit for them.

Cunliffe tells the Treasury Committee:

It’s not for us to say which is the right outcome. Parliament and government will take that forward.

It’s our job to be prepared for the worst,...and to provide parliament with information relevant to our mandate that is useful.

Whatever the outcomes, people in the UK can have assurance that they won’t see a financial sector meltdown of the sort as they say in 2008.

That means people can have “trust in the institution doing its job”, and delivering its inflation, Cunliffe explains, concluding:

But how the outcomes will play out, and the choices, are down to parliament and government.

Mark Carney reminds the committee that the Bank’s economic forecasts have a range of outcomes -- and the upper end of those forecasts are based on the economy looking somewhat similar to “the status quo” after Brexit.

That’s another hint that Theresa May’s deal is better than a no-deal outcome.

Rushnara Ali MP takes up the questioning, and accidentally calls Mark Carney ‘chancellor’ rather than ‘governor’.

She then asks whether Britain is stuck between “a rock and a hard place” when choosing between Theresa May’s deal and a no-deal Brexit.

Carney doesn’t “subscribe to that characterisation”. Instead, he says there is value in the PM’s transition deal, all depending on what the UK is actually transitioning too. That means the political declaration about the final arrangement is very important.

Q: Will interest rates be higher or lower after a no-deal Brexit?

Honestly, it all depends, Mark Carney reiterates.

Specifically, on whether it is more of a shock to demand (which might merit a stimulus from lower borrowing costs), or to supply (which could be inflationary, requiring higher rates)

Carney explains that no-deal Brexit would be a “real economy shock”. Central banks have a role, but they’re on a sidelines, he adds.

BoE committee member Michael Saunders then weighs in, warning that moving to WTO rules quickly (if Britain left without a deal) would be a major supply shock.

If you have queues at Dover, the answer is not lower interest rates.

So you can’t assume that the Bank would cut interest rates, as it did in 2016 after the referendum.

Q: If Britain leaves the EU without a deal, will the Bank boost its stimulus programme (to support the market) or raise interest rates (to support the pound)?

It depends, Carney replies. There are very few previous examples of an advanced economy suffering a big supply shock, so the Bank doesn’t have much evidence to go on.

Charlie Elphicke MP asks Mark Carney about last week’s cabinet meeting on Brexit.

Elphicke says that the pound jumped after Theresa May announced she had cabinet backing for her plan, but plunged the next morning when Brexit secretary Doninic Raab resigned.

Elphicke claims that Raab had told the chief whip of his plans that night -- so shouldn’t this information have been immediately released, as it was market sensitive?

Carney points out that sterling volatility is already very high, showing that investors expect plenty of Brexit drama. He believes May’s statement was appropriate.

Political resignations aren’t quite the same as corporate ones, he continues. The important thing is that anyone who has inside knowledge of events (such as Raab’s plans) don’t trade on them.

Back in the UK, the Bank of England has announced it will publish its assessment of the monetary and financial effects of Theresa May’s draft withdrawal agreement for Brexit next week.

This will give MPs the chance to read and digest the BoE’s views, before they vote on the deal. It will include a comparison with a “no deal, no transition” scenario.

Given the Bank’s well-publicised views on Brexit, we can safely assume that it will conclude that May’s deal is better than a disorderly exit from the EU.

The report, alongside the Bank’s latest stress test, will be published on Wednesday November 28th.

Carlos Ghosn’s arrest is an early test of Japan’s new plea-bargaining system, brought in this year to target corporate wrong-doing.

Under these rules, potential suspects can negotiate deals with prosecutors in exchange for information on another party.

On Monday, Nissan explained that a ‘whistle-blower’ had brought Ghosn’s misconduct to light, but didn’t give more details.

According to the Asahi newspaper, this referred to a company employee gave prosecutors information on Ghosn in return for lighter treatment.

Deutsche Bank analysts have warned there is a “high likelihood” that Carlos Ghosn will lose his leadership role at Renault (where he is CEO and chairman), plus the chairmanships of Nissan and Mitsubishi.

Forbes reports that Carlos Ghosn’s ex-wife, Rita, has also weighed in:

A scandal that brings down powerful people like Ghosn brings with it catcalls from people they have left in their wake.

Ghosn’s ex-wife, Rita Ghosn, posted this message to social media on Monday: “All narcissists are hypocrites. They pretend to have morals and values that they really don’t possess. Behind closed doors, they lie, insult, criticize, disrespect and abuse. They can do and say whatever they want, but how dare you say anything back to them or criticize them. They have a whole set of rules for others, but follow none of their own rules, and practice nothing of what they preach.”

Rita and Carlos Ghosn have four children, all now grown-up. Following the couple’s split, Carlos married his second wife Carole in 2016 - a union celebrated with a party at Versailles.

More developments: Mitsubishi will hold a board meeting next week to decide whether to dismiss Ghosn as chairman.

[reminder: Mitsubishi is partly owned by Nissan, making it the smallest member of Ghosn’s auto alliance].

Newsflash: Renault says it will hold a board meeting later today to discuss the situation.

Renault’s share price has dropped 3.3% at the start of trading in Paris, adding to yesterday’s 8% slide.

Traders are worried that its alliance with Nissan could be threatened by Ghosn’s anticipated dismissal from the Japanese carmaker.

Today’s selloff has driven Nissan’s share price down to its lowest level since July 2016.

As you can see, it was already trading at a two-year low before Carlos Ghosn’s shock arrest: