Lloyds leads flagging FTSE

High Street bank Lloyds announced a 6% fall in annual profits but has increased its shareholder dividend by 5% to 35.9p. This lead to the bank’s shares currently topping the winners' list up 15.50 to 452.25 this morning. Other risers included Shire up 18.00 to 992.50 and Royal Bank of Scotland Group up 5.25 to 379.25. Meanwhile, Sage Group, the global supplier of business management software and services, was the biggest loser. In the US, the Dow Jones closed down 142 points to 12,284 while the S&P 500 dropped 17 points as economic data was weak again for the month. In company news, ...