HSBC buy drags FTSE and Nikkei falls to 19-yr low

HSBC Holdings dragged the FTSE 100 down within the first hour of trading this morning after announcing plans to buy Household International, the largest US sub-prime mortgage lender, for $14.2bn. The FTSE 100 fell 40.70 points or 1% to 3988.50 after HSBC dropped 32p or 4.5% to 675p. However it is some of the smaller names which have seen some of the biggest percentage moves today. Akers BioSciences, the medical test maker, plummeted another 20.5p or 43% to 27.5p, having already lost two-thirds of their value since its May initial share sale. Executives say they won't meet market e...