374 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
374 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
finance
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markets
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marketreport
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8394599
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-----
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# FTSE today: market report live
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## London's index of leading shares rose for a fourth day, buoyed by a
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bullish note on British banks and good corporate news from the US overnight.
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![FTSE today: market report live][1]
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Photo: ALAMY
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[![Rachel Cooper][2]][3]
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By [Rachel Cooper][4], and agencies 6:11PM BST 27 May 2011
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[Follow Rachel Cooper on Twitter][5]
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[Comments][6]
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As the market made a more decisive move upwards, banks helped to propel the
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benchmark index further into positive territory.
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Giving them a boost was a bullish note from Societe Generale arguing "UK banks
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are in better shape than you think". "The market is sceptical of returns and
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fearful of risks within European banks, including UK banks. Our view is
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different," said the broker. "The crisis gave UK banks pricing power, and we
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have seen rising loan spreads. Now we expect substantial deposit spread
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improvement as rates rise."
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Analysts acknowledged risks remain, including liquidity concerns, but added
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these are receding faster than most people think. As such, they started
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**Barclays**, **HSBC**, **Lloyds Banking Group **and **Royal Bank of
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Scotland** with "buy" ratings and gave **Standard Chartered** a "hold".
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Analysts at Citigroup also turned "overweight" on banks, calling it a
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"tactical shift" to take advantage of recent share price weakness.
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Lloyds and RBS were amongst the biggest risers, putting on 1.44 to 52.76p and
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1.39 to 42.24p respectively while HSBC rose 6.6 to 630½p, Standard Chartered
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gained 18p to £16.05 and Barclays climbed 3.95 to 275.25p.
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## Related Articles
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* [Traders stick to 'sell in May' adage][7]
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04 May 2011
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* [How Questor's 2011 share tips performed up to Easter][8]
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24 Apr 2011
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* [Carphone calling][9]
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05 May 2011
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* [Rolls powers ahead][10]
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06 May 2011
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* [Cook warns on UK profit][11]
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09 May 2011
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* [A 500m boost for IMPS][12]
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10 May 2011
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Their advance helped the market end the week on a high note with the **FTSE
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100** advancing 57.88 points to 5938.87 while the **FTSE 250** jumped 117.79
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points to 11968.8.
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**2.55pm: Wall Street strengthens**
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London's large-caps continued their advance as Wall Street also strengthened.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 55 points to 12458 after after leaders
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of the Group of Eight said a pickup in global growth will spur faster debt
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reduction.
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Sentiment was also improved by figures showing Americans' spending edged up
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last month, although higher food prices accounted for some of the spending
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increases.
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Back on this side of the Atlantic, the **FTSE 100** gained 56 points to 5937
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while the **FTSE 250** jumped 110 points to 11951.
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Amongst the second-liners, **easyJet** gained altitude as RBS lifted its
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rating on the n-frills airline to "buy" from "hold" and upped its price target
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to 425p from 375p.
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"We have been prevaricating, admiring easyJet's strong strategic position,
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seeing it as inexpensive relative to peers. But, we have been concerned about
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fuel, consumer weakness and distraction from the major shareholder," said
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analysts.
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But they added that two factors had now changed. Firstly, the recent share
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price weakness on the latest volcanic ash cloud has created an entry point for
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the stock. Secondly, Deutsche Lufthansa's closure of its Milan Malpensa
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airport should give a major boost to easyJet's revenue in that market.
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easyJet climbed 11.6 to 361.6p.
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**11.20am: House builders boosted by Nationwide data**
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House builders were on the ascendant in morning trading as mortgage lender,
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Nationwide, said house prices edged up by 0.3pc during May. But, the property
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market continued to stagnate, according to Nationwide.
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The rise, which offset April's 0.2pc fall, left the average home costing
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£167,208 - 1.2pc less than a year earlier, according to the building society's
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housing index.
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Rising house prices prompted investors to buy into the builders, with **Bovis
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Homes**, **Berkeley** and** Bellway** putting on 3pc, 2.8pc and 2.6pc
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respectively.
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Their rise came as the wider market gained ground. The **FTSE 100** put on 45
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points to 5926 while the **FTSE 250** advanced 76 points to 11918.
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Yusuf Heusen, senior sales trader at IG Index, said:
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![Quote][13] _After a quiet day on Thursday, there's more conviction about
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investors today and this has pushed the FTSE 100 out to its best levels for
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the week. Analysts' upgrades for the banking sector have lifted the likes of
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Lloyds and RBS by a couple of percent - this will be of some relief,
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particularly for Lloyds shareholders because the share price has suffered a
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fairly relentless decline in the past six months._
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**9am: Banks boost blue-chips as benchmark index rallies**
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The **FTSE 100 **opened up 59.50 - or 1pc - at 5940.41, but is still down on
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the week after a 1.9pc fall on Monday.
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Banks were among the top blue chip performers, led by **Lloyds **(+2.9pc),
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after a bullish initiation note by Societe Generale, and by a press report
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saying EU banks could evade some of the Basel III regulatory requirements.
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The broker put a "buy" rating on Lloyds, **Barclays **(+2pc), **RBS **(+2.2pc)
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and **HSBC **(+1.1pc), and started **Standard Chartered** (+1.2pc) with a
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"hold".
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"The market is sceptical of returns and fearful of risks within European
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banks, including UK banks. Our view is different. The crisis gave UK banks
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pricing power, and we have seen rising loan spreads. Now we expect substantial
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deposit spread improvement as rates rise," the broker said in its note.
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**Electrocomponents **gained 1pc after the British electronics parts supplier
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said annual profits rose by more than 50pc, in line with forecasts, after
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double digit growth pushed revenue over £1bn for the first time.
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An upbeat outlook and a better-than-forecast 34pc rise in annual profits
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failed to ignite the shares of sweetener and starches maker **Tate & Lyle,**
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which was flat in early trading.
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Water company **Severn Trent **posted a smaller-than-expected drop in annual
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profit - down 14.7pc to £288.6m against forecasts of £276.7m - as higher water
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consumption offset lower prices. The shares rose 0.5pc.
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**Britvic**, Britain's second biggest soft drinks maker after Coca-Cola
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Enterprises, gained 1.6pc after it said it was confident about the second half
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despite higher input costs. Revenues rose 4pc but profits fell 27pc to £20.1m,
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but accounting for a £7.5m restructuring charge relating to an Irish
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acquistions. Stripping that out, profits were flat.
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Luxury good retailer **Burberry **rose 2.3pc after dropping 4.6pc on profit
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taking after strong results yesterday.
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**06.30 Wall Street lifts Asia**
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Asian markets were spurred higher following strong earnings on Wall Street,
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which overshadowed new signs of weakness in the US economy.
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Oil prices crept up to nearly $101 a barrel, while the dollar slipped against
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the yen and the euro amid signs of fatigue in the US, the world's largest
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economy.
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Japan's **Nikkei 225** index climbed out of the red to rise 0.1pc to 9,567.01.
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Investors ignored the strengthening yen and pushed Japanese export shares
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higher, including Sharp, up 0.4pc, and Panasonic, up 0.2pc.
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But Sony plunged 3pc, a day after reporting a 259.6bn yen (£1.95bn) loss for
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the fiscal year ended March 2011 and its third straight year of losses.
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Hong Kong's **Hang Seng** rose 1pc to 23,127.89 and South Korea's **Kospi**
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was 0.2pc higher at 2,096.04.
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Australia's **S&P/ASX 200 **was 0.5pc higher to 4,684.20, with energy and raw
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materials companies posting some of the index's bigger gains.
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Concerns about the European debt crisis have caused the market to wobble in
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recent weeks as the likelihood seemed to increase that Greece would need to
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renegotiate its debts, even after receiving a package of emergency loans last
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year.
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But the market showed less volatility this morning, when bad news started to
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fade and stocks regained some of their sparkle.
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"The market had been worrying about the euro crisis, but it was nothing. The
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situation has been that bad for a very long time," said Jackson Wong, vice
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president at Tanrich Securities in Hong Kong. "We were just reacting to the
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downgrades from S&P and Fitch."
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Wong said buying was largely driven by bargain hunting and short-position
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covering in anticipation of higher market levels.
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Shares in mainland China were down amid concerns over the impact of the
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country's worst drought in a half-century on energy supplies.
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The **Shanghai Composite** Index dropped 0.1pc to 2,733.92 and the smaller
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Shenzhen Composite Index lost 0.8pc at 1,113.77.
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The **Dow Jones **industrial average rose 8.10 points to close at 12,402.76.
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It was the second day of gains for the Dow after three days of losses driven
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by concerns over Greece.
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The miners provided the benchmark index with some support on Thursday, and
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the** FTSE 100** nudged up 10.85 points to 5880.99 while the **FTSE 250**
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gained 15.77 points to 11841.01.
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**Thursday's market report**
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[**Pumped-up Weir lifts hope for manufacturers **][14]
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[**FTSE today: market report as it happened, May 26, 2011**][15]
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**Wednesday's market report **
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[**Glencore ousts Invensys as FTSE recovers**][16]
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[**[FTSE today: market report as it happened, May 25, 2011 ][17]**][18]
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**Tuesday's market report **
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**[Commodities rally as Goldman goes long][19] **
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**[FTSE today: market report as it happened: May 24, 2011][17] **
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**Tools:** [[Shares and Markets: News, charts, data][20]][21]
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[X][22] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][23]
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* Share: [Share][22] [ ][24] [ ][25]
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[Tweet][26]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/marketreport/8394599/FTSE-today-
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market-report-live.html
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Telegraph
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## [Market Report][27]
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* ### [Finance »][28]
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* ### [Markets »][29]
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* ### [Business Latest News »][30]
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* ### [Rachel Cooper »][3]
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In finance
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[![FTSE 100: Global markets ? in graphs][31] ][32]
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### [This week on the global markets - in graphs][32]
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[![Top ten most valuable companies in the FTSE 100: in pictures][33] ][34]
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### [Top ten most valuable companies in the FTSE 100][34]
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[![Fantasy Fund Manager game][35]][36]
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### [Fantasy funds: keep track][36]
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[X][22] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][23]
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Share:
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* [ ][22]
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* [ ][24]
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* [ ][25]
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* [Tweet][26]
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* Advertisement
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![][37]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][38] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][39]
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Advertisement
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[Market Data »][40]
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sponsored features
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Finance Most Viewed
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* TODAY
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* PAST WEEK
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* PAST MONTH
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2. [Look, even Sweden charges for healthcare][42]
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3. [BMW blames speculators as aluminium costs rise][43]
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4. [US consumers in spending retreat][44]
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5. [Google sued by PayPal in Silicon Valley's mobile war][45]
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1. [What happens when Greece defaults][46]
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2. [Dominique Strauss-Kahn: DNA samples confirm sperm traces on maid's
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dress][47]
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3. [It's ever more obvious, Greece must leave the euro][48]
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4. [Dominique Strauss-Kahn: new claims of sexual misconduct add to pressure
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on former IMF chief][49]
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5. [How the euro crisis end game might look][50]
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1. [What happens when Greece defaults][46]
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2. [Dominique Strauss-Kahn: IMF head 'hired prostitutes from Manhattan
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madam'][51]
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3. [Dominique Strauss-Kahn: DNA samples confirm sperm traces on maid's
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dress][47]
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4. [A tax-based alternative to the Alternative Vote][52]
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5. [Dominique Strauss-Kahn: maid experienced 'extraordinary trauma'][53]
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Advertisement
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Classified Advertising
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