Banking optimism sparks 2% FTSE rally

London's leading index was up more than 100 points, or almost 2%, at 5,115. Lloyds, RBS and Barclays all advanced more than 4% after the Bank of England today opted to keep interest rates at their historic low of 0.5% for the 16th straight month. Additionally, an IMF report upped its forecast for global growth this year from 4.2% to 4.6%. Sainsbury lost 2.3% following talk of another takeover tilt by the company's Qatari investors. In the US, stocks gained at Thursday's open after a bigger-than-expected drop in jobless claims reassured investors. The Dow Jones advanced almost...