Early FTSE advance after BP gains

BP, Europe's largest oil company, gained 14p, or 2.3%, to 627.5p and. Shell, the region's No. 2 oil company, gained 30p or 1.7% to £17.51. Mining giant BHP Billiton added 1.4% to 817p while Rio Tinto, the No. 2 mining company, climbed 27p or 1.3% to £21.91. Crude oil rose almost 2% in New York on Friday as it advanced $1.45 to $64.08 a barrel after concerns a hurricane may form in the Caribbean and head for the Gulf of Mexico, causing further disruption to production. Man Group, the world's largest hedge fund company, rose 0.9% to £15.55 after revealing it is not in talks to ...