New Star Asset Management's share price dived almost 50% this morning after the company warned profits for this year will be "significantly lower" than last year and it nearly halved its expected dividend. Founder and chairman John Duffield today bore a paper loss of as much as £8m (€10.6m) on his 7.5% holding.

The shares dropped immediately following a trading statement today and by mid-morning were down 45% to a 52-week low of 82p from yesterday's close of 147p. That fall marked an 83% drop since the high of 486.98p reached in May last year. However, the share price recovered to 101p by the end of the day, making it a 32% drop for the day.