FTSE balanced

At the other end of the scale, the world’s largest household cleaning products maker Reckitt Benckiser has raced to 1,593, up 53p or 3.5% already this morning, after competitor Procter & Gamble announced plans to buy Gillette for $57bn. Investment management firm Amvescap is also up 6p to 320.25p, while asset management company Schroders has lost that same amount to 742.50p. In Japan stocks declined, led by phone parts maker Kyocera and telco KDDI after both companies lowered profit forecasts, raising concern earnings growth may slow this year. Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Avera...