Abbey rejects BoI deal but lifts FTSE beyond 4,000

As expected, Abbey National has again rejected Bank of Ireland's £16bn takeover deal, but it has helped to lift the FTSE back over the psychological 4,000 barrier. The FTSE 100 Index climbed 74.70 points or 1.9% to 4006.60 within the first hour of trading on Tuesday, led by Abbey National which gained 43.5p or 7 % to 661.5p. GUS, the catalogue retail company,also rose thanks to improved sales at Argos for the first half of this year. Gus climbed 7p or 1.3% to 545p because of higher demand for home deliveries. And Bellway Homes beat analysts expectations to increase its fisca...