FTSE flat on fickle financials

Indistinct bid speculation propelled Xstrata to the top spot; the mining giant finished 8.59% higher to 3363. Rio Tinto is up on the continued BHP Billiton affair, 4.93% up to 4700; while Home Retail was also higher, 4.88% up to 279.25. Standard Life and Prudential led the losses for the pounded financials, down 6.31% to 211.75 and 5.84% to 596.50 respectively. In New York, Wall Street is lower despite a strong opening, currently down 62.18 points (0.51%) to 12097.03. Optimism surrounds an announcement from President Bush today, which is expected to outline plans for the short term sa...