Whitbread carries FTSE towards 5,000 again

Owner of Pizza Hut has advanced 69p or 7.7% to 965p, its highest level in almost six years, after announcing it may sell more Marriott hotels than planned to return cash to shareholders. Corus Group has also added 1.75p to 58p, however, moving in the other direction, InterContinental Hotels Group has shed 16.5p to 660p. In the US, the Dow Jones index has declined 30 points to 10,821.21 points in the morning session, after a rise in the 10-year Treasury bond yield threw up concerns higher interest rates will curb profit growth. Computer firms Hewlett-Packard and Intel, down $0.40 to $...