BT leads the floundering FTSE's decline, announcing an ‘unsatisfactory' performance in its Global Services unit, as the index falls 80.22 points (1.87%) to 4211.43.
The telecoms giant said second quarter earnings per share will be slightly below expectations, prompting its stock to plunge 27.80 (19.56%) to 114.30p. Old Mutual has shed 7.30 (12.17%) to 52.70p, while HSBC Holdings has declined 47.50p (6.09) to 732.50p. Centrica and Next have also slumped by 5.96% to 288p and 5.48% to 1034p, respectively. However, Friends Provident added 6.30 (9.45%) to 73p, despite reporting a 14% drop in total life and pension sales to £701m. It also announced plans to distribute its 52% stake in F&C among shareholders mid 2009. Barclays gained 19.00 (9.26%) to 24...
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