London midday: Footsie falls below 6,000

Footsie has failed to stay above 6,000 today and it has been heading downwards since just after 9am. Blizzards in the US are driving oil prices to a 26-month high above $91 a barrel. Heating oil prices in particular are rising. Royal Dutch Shell was one of the best performers this morning but it has lost a large chunk of those early gains. Miners are mixed with gold miners rising on the back of concerns about the bond markets. African Barrick Gold is the best of the risers this lunch time alongside Randgold Resources. Banks are weak on worries over the debt issues facing the eurozone. Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds are both under pressure. Smith & Nephew is weak on yesterday's decision by the US Food and Drug Administration to issue a warning about production methods at a S&N factory in Germany that makes hip replacements.BT (2.4p a share interim), Burberry (5p a share interim), Experian (5.71p a share interim) and Alliance Trust (2.06p third quarter) have all gone ex-dividend today. Alliance is unchanged, while BT has fallen by less than one-half of its dividend. The other two have fallen by more than their interim dividend payment. FTSE 100 - RisersAfrican Barrick Gold (ABG) 605.00p +3.95%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,395.00p +2.47%Investec (INVP) 531.50p +2.02%Anglo American (AAL) 3,353.50p +1.41%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,547.00p +1.11%Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) 1,248.00p +0.89%Aggreko (AGK) 1,528.00p +0.86%Hammerson (HMSO) 423.20p +0.79%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,544.00p +0.72%Wolseley (WOS) 2,051.00p +0.59%FTSE 100 - FallersNext (NXT) 2,005.00p -2.05%International Power (IPR) 439.60p -2.01%Centrica (CNA) 335.60p -1.96%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 673.00p -1.90%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 39.96p -1.77%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,520.00p -1.62%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 67.77p -1.53%Vodafone Group (VOD) 169.50p -1.51%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,583.00p -1.49%Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,505.50p -1.48%FTSE 250 - RisersTalvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 612.00p +5.34%Supergroup (SGP) 1,277.00p +3.65%Helical Bar (HLCL) 287.30p +3.31%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 643.50p +3.12%Ashtead Group (AHT) 173.50p +3.09%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 89.85p +3.04%SIG (SHI) 124.20p +2.64%Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 418.00p +2.48%Persimmon (PSN) 420.10p +2.44%Mondi (MNDI) 518.00p +2.37%FTSE 250 - FallersComputacenter (CCC) 387.30p -3.85%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 165.20p -2.31%Electrocomponents (ECM) 266.20p -2.10%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 867.00p -2.03%SEGRO (SGRO) 288.90p -1.73%Gartmore Group Ltd. (GRT) 91.15p -1.73%Hansen Transmissions International NV (DI) (HSN) 59.05p -1.58%Spirent Communications (SPT) 147.50p -1.47%Rank Group (RNK) 130.10p -1.44%WH Smith (SMWH) 495.30p -1.33%