Man Group and Pru fire 2% FTSE charge

Shortly after 11.15am, London's leading index had advanced 103.9 points, or 2.06%, to 5,142.04. Early winners include hedge fund manager Man Group, despite its announcement profits slumped 27% in 2009 and it will halve its dividend for the current financial year. Its shares rose more than 17p, or 8%, to 232.7p. Prudential stock jumped as investors owning as much as 20% of the UK insurer reportedly said they plan to vote against the $35.5bn takeover of American International Group's main Asian unit. The FTSE's resilience follows a rocky ride overnight for the Dow Jones, which closed...