Boeing flies FTSE higher

The maker of airplane engines has climbed 16.75p or 5% to 328.75p, after announcing a 54% increase in mid-year underlying pre-tax profit. Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group has picked up 3p to 90.5p as the company says it has cut £126m off its pension deficit after agreeing a new pension scheme with employees. Alliance Unichem, meanwhile, has retreated 15.5p to 815p, despite a 28% increase in first-half profit, as slower sales have caused chief executive Ian Meakins to cut the forecast for full-year wholesale sales growth by half a percent to 3%. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Stock Avera...