Footsie closes at two-and-a-half year low

After several attempts this week, leading shares have finally closed below their recent low of March 17. With no guidance from Wall Street - closed for the Independence Day holiday - the FTSE 100 ended 63.8 points lower at 5412.8 - its worst level for more than two and a half years. This was just two points lower than the March level of 5414 reached when US bank Bear Stearns was bailed out, and was enough to make it the lowest level since 2 November 2005. Friends Provident led the fallers, down 7p to 94.5p on reports that Swiss Life had withdrawn from the bidding for its Lombard insurance business. Other insurers - notably the new backers of the Bradford & Bingley rights issue - were also lower. dropped 4.8p to 94.5p. B&B itself closed 11p lower at 50p. Another investor in B&B is HBOS, which of course is in the middle of its... [read full story]