Stocks were mixed in a volatile session on Wall Street today, with blue chips weighed down by uncertainty over oil prices and a new investigation of the insurance industry.

Drinks group Diageo has appointed Jonathan Symonds to its board with effect from May 1 this year.

EUROPE'S three biggest drug companies will showcase new products at three keenly-awaited research and development presentations in the coming weeks, but none has a quick fix for sceptical investors, analysts say.

ELI LILLY, the maker of prozac antidepressant pills, raised its 2003 earnings forecast on demand for psychiatric medications including zyprexa for schizophrenia and new drugs such as cialis to treat impotence.