The FSTE 100 Index is up for a third day, lifted by Shell Transport & Trading on announcing that it will combine with Royal Dutch Petroleum, to simplify ownership of Europe's second-largest oil company.
The UK benchmark is currently up about 29.50 points to 4659.60 points. Shell, which owns 40% of Royal Dutch/Shell Group, added 18.50p, to 442.25p. The company also today, reported third-quarter net income rose 70% to $4.41bn, based on accounting that strips out costs from holding oil inventories. British Airways gained 5.50p to 212p, with a drop in oil narrowing its costs. Abbey National is also up 10.50p to 627.50p. Boots Group is down 5.50p to 665.50p, while BP has lost 3.50p to 532p this morning. In Asia, stocks are on the up, as a result in the slump of oil prices. In Ja...
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