FTSE sees slight drop at close but Wall Stree up

Sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.1% from the previous month when they rose a revised 0.3%, the Office for National Statistics in London said today. The news helped to counteract this morning's gains follwing the annoucement that Pernod Ricard SA had agreed to buy Allied Domecq for £7.4 billion in cash and stock, gaining brands such as Ballantine's whisky and Beefeater gin to become the world's second-largest drinks company. Allied Domecq saw its stock rise 22.00p to 665.00p. As part of the transaction, Fortune Brands Inc., the U.S. maker of Jim Beam bourbon, will buy Allied Domecq's ...