FTSE takes early hit

The company facing the biggest loss by 11am was Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), which had fallen by 15.5p to 284p. Following was Hammerson which dropped to 878.5p, a slump of 43.5p, while third was the London Stock Exchange Group, which had a loss of 4.44%, to drop to 731p. Businesses gaining value include, firstly, Smith & Nephew, which was up by 2.75% to 635.5p. Following was Scottish & Southern Energy, up 1.88% to 637.5p. In New York, the Dow Jones struggled heavily in trading yesterday, finishing down 180.5 points, or 1.55%, to 11,479.39. Not a single blue-chip firm gained in shar...