Insurers, banks drag FTSE down

Insurance companies came under more pressure after threats of credit downgrades today while LloydsTSB said it would put aside more money to cover bad debts, and both issues contributed to the FTSE 100 index shedding 26.80 points to close at 4,048.60. This afternoon's trading was not helped either by news from the US that Disney and Hewlett Packard were both reporting earnings growth lower than expected. Johnson Matthey led the FTSE down with a 53p drop to 820p after it went ex-dividend. Lehman Bros. cut its share price target on Sage, pushing the software firm down 8p t...