FTSE bogged down by homeowner worries

Shares in ICI jumped in early trading, as a bidding war looked set to take place after the rejection of Akzo Nobel’s £7.2bn offer, up 85.5, or 15.57%, to 634.5p. More modest gains were made by SABMiller, up 17 points, or 1.35%, to £12.78, followed by Reuters Group, up by seven points, or 1.35%, to 640p. Rolls-Royce experienced another good day with shares gaining 5.25 points, or 0.96%, to 552p, and BHP Billiton ended the day up by 11 points, or 0.81%, putting shares at £13.69. Big gains by ICI were offset by losses for Persimmon, down 3.37% to £13.33, and Barratt Development, down 2.7%...