FTSE on the rise

Lloyds Banking Group bucked an improved trend for the London market today after the part-nationalised bank posted a £6.3bn (€7bn) annual loss.

Shares fell 5% or 2.7p to 52.2p as the bank counted the cost of a staggering £24bn (€26.8bn) in bad debts, mainly stemming from rescued bank HBOS.