FTSE goes sour as cyclical and defensive stocks hit

Fears that the economic cycle is going to be dragged along the bottom for longer than previously expected has weakened the FTSE 100 index this morning, and it is down more than 35 points at 4,285. Media company Pearson is off by 18p to 572p after warning that the advertising slump persists. New rumours that an Australian bank may put forward a bid for Abbey National have helped its shares rise by about 12p to 736.5p, while Alliance & Leicester shares are up 15p to 845p on news it is to continued buying back shares. Worries about the pace of rollout of new services in th...