A&L writedown fears stunt FTSE

Alliance & Leicester was the main culprit, it plunged on writedown fears and sinking optimism on next week’s figures. The lender dropped 6.99% to 559. The oil and gas producer sector also struggled; BG Group was hit hardest, down 4.21% to 1,137. Vedanta also had a tough day at the office; the mining giant lost 3.36% to 1,954. British Energy led the gains despite a sharp fall in operating profits; it jumped 9% to 533. Experian climbed on revived bid speculation, the travel firm climbed 4.19% to 453.75 – while Man Group was also solid, up 4.04% to 579.50. In New York, Wall Street jump...