FTSE slides ahead on oil

BP has climbed 8p, or 1.2%, to 690p after Citigroup raised its price forecast to 725p from 720p, while Shell has advanced 1.50% to 2,032p. Friends Provident has risen 3.47% to 201p after reporting it enjoyed a buoyant final quarter with particularly strong growth on the international stage. The group says total life and pensions new business for 2005 increased by 70% to £5.39bn compared with £3.18bn a year earlier. Total International new business went up 311% to £2.21bn. But Centrica has paced the declining shares, slipping 2.5p, or 0.9%, to 268.5p. Lehman Brothers Holdings has cut ...