FTSE makes steady rise on WPP

WPP Group advanced. Friends Provident paced declining shares. WPP, the world's second-largest advertising company, rose 8p, or 1.39%, to 582p. Analysts upgraded the shares to “overweight” from “equal-weight” this morning saying prospects for sales and earnings growth are improving. Friends Provident lost 6 pence, or 2.54%, to 173p. The insurer's fund management unit F&C Asset Management said it expects clients to withdraw more money in the fiscal second half after reporting a first-half loss of £722,000. In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 5.51 points to 10,684.07 in ...