FTSE rises on merger speculation

Vodafone has gained 1p, or 0.8%, to £1.35 and Royal Bank of Scotland has increased 19p, or 1%, to £18.79. 888 has climbed 8.5p, or 7.7%, to £1.19 after Ladbrokes said it is in the early stages of reviewing a possible transaction involving 888 Holdings. Cable & Wireless has increased 2p, or 1.4%, to £1.48 after Dresdner Kleinwort raised its recommendation on the company to “add” from “hold”, citing cost-cutting progress in the UK. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 14.74 points, or 0.1%, to 16,364.76 points, led by exporters after the yen weakened against the dollar, boosting t...