Mixed Monday as 3i Group dives

Reports of an impending portfolio sale for 3i are understood to be behind the fall, which has taken the firm's price below 300p for the first time in more than a decade, although the group has not commented on the rumours. British Gas owner Centrica is also suffering after the firm's £2.2bn rights issue failed to attract a 100% take-up. The company slipped more than 17p (6.84%) on Monday. However, London's blue-chip index, buoyed by a near 8% gain for HBOS, is marginally up 90 minutes before close at 4,286, a rise of more than five points or 0.13%. In the US, a near 6% loss for JPMorg...