Falling crude oil halts FTSE rebound

The prospect of war is slowly taking its toll on the global economy and stock prices have dropped again this morning on the back of a huge fall in the price of crude oil. The FTSE 100 fell 54.2 points or 1.2% to 4558.2 at the open after crude oil posted its biggest drop since the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Shell, which owns 40% of Royal Dutch Group, dropped 16.75p or 3.7% to 448p, while BP declined 10.5p or 2.1% to 502p, wiping 18 points off the FTSE 100. Crude oil traded below $23 a barrel overnight after plunging 15% in New York trading, on the expectation that the US terrorist atta...