FTSE rebounds after worst day for seven months

The UK's blue chip index was up 0.7% to 6,333 in early afternoon trading, reclaiming some ground lost yesterday when the index fell 1.6%. European markets also moved higher, having tumbled alongside the UK on Thursday. The German DAX was up 1.2% while the French CAC 40 gained 0.8%. Markets were boosted by the announcement that German business confidence rose to a ten-month high in January, those this positivity was offset by news European banks will pay back less of the emergency loans provided by the ECB last year than had been expected. The central bank said just over €61bn of...