Sectors - FTSE  

Europe's largest oil company is offering 195 pence for each Cove share

Takeover of the assets of Glaxo will mark the second major deal for Thomas H Lee Partners

Global financial services firm Morgan Stanley has appointed Vincent Reinhart, a formal Federal Reserve policymaker, as chief US economist

English Premier League football champions Manchester United has planned $1 billion initial public offering in Singapore by the end of 2011

Germany's Commerzbank AG's chief financial officer Eric Strutz will exit when contract expires in March

Global research-based biopharmaceutical company.AstraZeneca Plc receives U.S. approval for heart drug Brilinta that will rival world-best selling drug Plavix

After going through the much-needed financial lessons, world stocks have geared up to do some serious business, prompting worldwide investors to take cautious steps and keep an eye on the stock movements during the first month of the year.

British tour operator Thomas Cook has big plans to invest in Russian tourism as part of its expansion strategy. Russia, as a country is highly aware of its status as a tourist hotspot and adopts a very modern approach when it comes to maximizing its appeal to the global travelers.

UK’s benchmark index dipped down by 1.5 % on the third day of the week despite gaining 0.8% in the previous session. Thumping housing sales of the US housing market and slow movement in Japanese exports indicated a possibility of an economic breakdown.

Yesterday the index closed at 5133.9 points, a gain of 21 percent since July. Prior to this quarter the FTSE 100's best three months had been in the first three months of 1987, when it rose by 19 percent. The index began in 1984.

The company had been struggling due to the shift to digital photography and the wider economic crisis. Over the previous two years it had cut its head office staff by 250, and was in a huge amount of debt.

The statement came during an interview with the BBC. Darling said that the origin of the crisis was with the banks, who were buying and selling products "that they didn't understand." He agreed with Lord Turner, Head of the Financial Services Authority, that the crisis was "cooked up in trading rooms."

High street fashion retailer Next has reported "better than expected" sales in the first half of the year. Citing a "slight improvement" in the consumer environment, as well as good weather conditions, Next reported that its like-for-like sales had fallen only by 1.2 percent while total sales rose by 2 percent over the same period.

The FTSE 100 Index fell 0.97, or less than 0.1 percent, to 4,907.93 as of 8:41 a.m. in London, while the FTSE All-Share Index dropped 0.1 percent.

The FTSE 100 Index of leading firms rose more than 50 points at one point, breaking through the 4900 barrier and ended the Monday up 43 points at 4896, its highest since October last year. Last week, the FTSE ended up 2 percent in a period of almost continuous growth since mid July and the biggest July-August rally since it was created in 1984.

By Rebekah CurtisBy 9:04 a.m., the FTSE 100 was down 7.52 points, or 0.2 percent, at 4,201.49 points.

By Simon FalushThe FTSE 100 closed down 31.52 points at 4,059.88 points, bringing the losses for the month to 8.4 percent after it fell over 30 percent last year.

The UK blue chip index closed 59.53 points, or 1.4 percent lower on Thursday at 4,121.11, the seventh straight session of losses.

Balfour Beatty's place in the FTSE 250 index will be taken by Emerald Energy , with the oil explorer moving up from the FTSE Small Cap index .

By Dominic Lau

By Simon FalushThe FTSE 100 closed down 131.41 points at 4,507.51, after rising 10 percent in the previous six sessions.