FTSE 100

The FTSE 100 index fell by 0.4% on Friday, the first time it declined in four days. The benchmark index ended the day at 5703.02 points, off by 24.63 points.

The FTSE 100 opened higher Tuesday, tracking strength overnight on Wall Street, as Legal & General (L&G) beat profit forecasts and lifted its final dividend payout by a third.

FTSE 100 dividend payouts are expected to rise 18% this year, as profitability recovers from the crisis.

The FTSE opened down 0.44% at 5,625.38 despite gains by medical stocks after President Obama's landmark healthcare reforms were passed in the US.

The global recovery is well in line with forecasts for 2010, 2011 and 2012 looking for growth of around 4% in each year.

Lazard's Alan Clifford says UK investors need to be more creative than ever to achieve both capital appreciation and yield premiums

SLI's Gordon Humphries says the UK stock market has not been suffering in line with the UK economy in recent weeks and one of the key drivers of this dislocation is the massive overseas exposure of many UK-listed companies

MarketGuard has launched a new insurance product designed to protect the value of a policyholder's index tracker in a downturn.

A decision by the US Federal Reserve to keep interest rates on hold boosted sentiment in London this morning.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.65% or 36.43 points to 5,630 early this morning as the rumoured RBS debt restructuring boosts financial stocks.