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  Observers believe that it is sales of small-ticket items - such as books and CDs - that may suffer the most in the run-up to Christmas?Photo: PA

Analysts believe that there could be some pre-Christmas profit warnings from national store groups as they face the reality of depressed sales.

Meanwhile, shares in BA, the airline, fell as thousands of holiday makers were forced to abandon Christmas getaway plans and return home as a result of the worst weather in years.

In a rising stock market, shares in retailers dropped markedly. Shares in HMV Group fell 9.5pc to 28.5p, shares in Dixons Retail fell 6pc to 22.8p, while shares in computer games store Game Group fell 5.5pc to 65p. WH Smith, Marks & Spencer and Tesco were also down. BA closed down 5 at 265.2p.

With just a few shopping days remaining until Christmas, analysts said that store groups might be forced to issue profit warnings due to the terrible weather.

"It varies from the snow being an inconvenience for shops to the snow being a big disruption. There are a few days to go so there is an opportunity for catch-up. But for some chains the disruption will prove critical," said Matthew McEachran, retail analyst at Singer Capital Markets.

"It is not just about footfall on the high street, it is about the supply chain. Can the goods get to the store? There is an outside chance of the weaker players having to disappoint the market with profits warnings," he said.

Observers believe that it is sales of small-ticket items - such as books and CDs - that may suffer the most in the run-up to Christmas. According to Nielsen BookScan, the average discount on the top 1,000 best-selling hardback books last week was 37.1pc against 31.3pc in the same period in 2009, with seven of the top 20 bestselling hardbacks being reduced by more than 50pc.

Dominic Myers, managing director of Waterstones, told The Bookseller magazine that the economy was at the heart of sluggish demand: "Consumers are being more careful and are more concerned about what they buy."

Biggest percentage share falls on Monday

HMV -9.5pc

Dixons Retail -6pc

Game Group -5.5pc

Next -0.9pc

Tesco -0.8pc

Marks & Spencer -0.7pc

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The Bank recently posting record profits in first half of $3. 12bn (￡ 1. 97bn), said that he was to mobilize funds to get ahead of the regulatory changes introduced in the wake of the financial crisis and the subsequent recession.

Investors are offered 1 new share to ￡ country for each 8 existing shares that they hold .c ' is a 33pc discount to the course of closing stock Tuesday.

Peter Sands, Executive Director of Standard Chartered, said: "We let this problem of rights so that we can continue our strong organic growth record and take full advantage of these possibilities, so that at the same time, in preparation for likely needs resulting from the implementation of Basel III. capital increases"

For the past five years, the Bank changed its scale with a number of small purchases but significant emerging in Asia, Africa and the Middle East .his dominance in Africa market is disputed by HSBC buys participation in the fourth largest bank Nedbank, 70pc South Africa.

"This is not a warchest to acquisitions." "This is a strategy based on the growth of the orgainic," underlined Mr. Sands.

He said the question of rights was made from a position of financial strength - the Bank has continued to make good in the third quarter progress - and while he was still uncertainty concerning the requirements of Basel III, the Bank believes that fundraising is quite meet the requirements.

It was better to being too soon, as being too late, he said.

Standard Chartered has a base level 9pc capital ratio.Although it is already above the minimum targeted 7pc, large banks as Standard Chartered are being hit with a systemic risk premium of up to 4pc over capital.Un another 2pc will be added to the booms as buffer counter-cyclical to protect themselves against subsequent busts.

The Commission considers that the impact of the rights issue will be to increase the ratio of capital base level 1 forecast by approximately 2 percentage points, adding to $30bn stock .the Bank Bank is a value of ￡ remained.

Mr. Sands was among a number of bankers top page of the Conference of the Institute of international finance in Washington, who claimed that the markets are require capital ratios elevator industry to new levels of regulatory much more quickly than expected last week.

Global regulatory officials gave eight years to comply but shareholders, counterparties and debt investors - banks as well as supervisors at United Kingdom, and the United States Switzerland - appetite for banks to implement the policy much earlier.

Temasek, main shareholder of the company intends to resume its rights issue fully subscribed by JP Morgan Cazenove, Goldman Sachs and UBS.Administration also take their rights.

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