FTSE declines in early trading

Reed Elsevier, owner of the LexisNexis database and the Harcourt educational publisher, has dropped 2.1% to 588p. The company said it expects to reach its target of 5% so-called organic revenue growth and a 10% increase in earnings per share. Vedanta Resources, India's largest producer of copper and zinc, has lost 4.3% to 1,327p. The company said first-half profit quadrupled to $447.6m. That still missed the £486m median estimates of ananlysts. In Japan stocks fell, led by lenders after the Bank of Japan left its key interest rate unchanged today, impeding banks' ability to lift loan rat...