FTSE down on insurance woes

The FTSE 100 index is down 4 points to 4,144 after insurer Prudential cut its dividend for all shareholders for the first time since 1914. Prudential leads today's losers, so far, having shed 15.75p to 419p as investors looked for better returns from other stocks. Aviva is not one of them, as it too slipped this morning, shedding 9.75p to 488p – its dividend was cut 40% last year. R&SA is down 1.75p to 150p, and Friends Provident is down 1.25p to 124.5p. Cadbury Schweppes in contrast leads the gainers with a 14.25p rise to 380p after an analyst upgrade from Merri...