FTSE up on M&A news

Smiths Group is posting the biggest gains so far with a rise of 13.96% to £11.23, after it agreed to sell its aerospace division to General Electric for $4.8bn in cash, while United Utilities is up 0.2% to 769.5p, after it announced it has sold Vertex, its administration outsourcing operation to a consortium of US private equity firms for £218m. Meanwhile miner Vedanta Resources is up 2.97% to £11.43, closely followed by Cairn Energy which is up 2.77% to £17.09, while Amvescap has climbed 2.19% to 607.5p, and Johnson Matthey has added 2.14% to £14.81. Although Cable & Wireless is curr...