Former media mogul Conrad Black’s trial began with the judge questioning a man who lost money in the WorldCom debacle, a woman whose investments went sour and more than three dozen other prospective jurors.

Accounting group KPMG was criticised yesterday for its role in the WorldCom accounting scandal in the latest report by court-appointed examiner Richard Thornburgh.

A turbulent week on the London market ended on a high note today after sharp gains for insurance stocks.

The FTSE 100 Index is up 85.9 at 4626.5 after an hour's trading.

WorldCom's €5.53bn accounting scandal could be the "tip of the iceberg," an expert in commercial fraud litigation has suggested.