Oil greases FTSE slide

Oil analysts on both sides of the Atlantic suggest crude oil prices will continue to fall because of unseasonably warm weather coupled with rising stockpiles – notwithstanding the EU’s concerns over access to Russian exports. Shell is currently unchanged, but BP has shed 4p to 531.5p so far. Cairn Energy is down 11p to £16.70. Financials are taking a pasting, with concerns over whether more banks will follow HSBC’s lead in generating mixed messages about the strength of different business lines. HSBC is down 4p to 920p. Lloyds TSB is down 3p to 578p. Barclays is down 3.5p to 761...