Pfizer's AstraZeneca hopes revived

Hopes for Pfizer’s apparently doomed attempt to take over AstraZeneca flickered back to life today on a report that one of the largest shareholders in the UK firm had urged it to engage in talks.

Shares climbed 2% on the speculation, making Astra for a time the biggest climber on London’s FTSE 100 Index – despite a statement hours earlier by the firm that appeared to snuff out any lingering chance of a deal.