Northern Rock falls, FTSE down

The top-five UK lender is down 99.5 points, or 10.5%, to 848 – upon this morning’s announcement its profits will increase by around 15% on the previous year, below the average forecast. British Airways is among the early movers, gaining 5.25 points, or 1.25%, to 425.00. BAE Systems has started to claw back some of yesterday’s losses, gaining 5.5 points, or 1.35%, to 413.25. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones fell 14.39 points, or 0.11%, to 13337.66. Merck & Co was the day’s highest mover, the pharmaceutical giant climbed 0.78 points, or 1.61%, to 49.12. Johnson & Johnson and McDonald’s cont...