FTSE 100 slides and Bookham announces widening losses

The FTSE 100 was in decline mid morning and chip manufacturer Bookham Technology was nearing record lows after it admitted its second-quarter loss widened. The FTSE was down 25.4 points to 5421.3 after closing up 43.6 points at 5446.70 yesterday. The Techmark 100 slipped 3.59 points to 1548.04 and is expected to slide further during the day. Bookham shares fell 14p to 140p. The company said that the higher-than-expected loss was due to clients such as Marconi and Nortel delaying or canceling orders. Among the gainers, Halifax rose 27.5p to 795p as it earlier reported a fir...