Mining shares weigh on FTSE

British Land shares lost 8.5p (1.08%) to 796.5p, while Alliance & Leicester shares lost 4.25 points (0.99%) to 434.5p. BHP Billiton shares dropped 173p (7.88%) to £20.23, while Kazakhmys lost 151p (7.77%) to £17.92 as mining firms dragged the market down. On Wall Street, markets dropped considerably as a new report on inflation continued to stoke fears about the US economy and the Dow Jones fell 179.04 points (1.37%) to 12,849.12. Only three Dow Jones shares gained, with Chevron leading the way, up 0.56 (0.55%) to $102.76 as oil prices continued to break records. Merck added 0.19 (0.47%...