FTSE flat as M&A picks up

The FTSE opened at 5,727 this morning, sliding 0.08% in early trading, although there was a raft of M&A activity among the UK's largest companies.

Resolution, the insurance sector consolidator run by entrepreneur Clive Cowdery, is buying Bupa Health Assurance for £102m. HSBC is close to walking away from a £5bn ($8bn) plan to buy Nedbank in South Africa, after a two-month period of exclusive talks with majority owner Old Mutual expires this weekend. The bank is not in a position to make an offer for Nedbank before the period of exclusivity finishes, the Financial Times reports. That could leave the way clear for UK rival Standard Chartered to gain the upper hand in the bidding to buy Nedbank, HSBC executives concede. StanChar...