The Week's Market Movers
Will the meteoric rise of the miners never end? Find out about the latest market winners - and losers - here.
The FTSE 100 took some hard knocks this week, and at the time of writing on Friday, the index stood at 5676, down almost 4%.
Biggest Movers in the FTSE 350 (as at Friday 09.00) RISERS
1
International Ferro Metals (LSE: IFL)
+20.61%
2
Keller Group (LSE: KLR)
+15.65%
3
International Personal Finance (LSE: IPF)
+11.60%
4
Helphire Group (LSE: HHR)
+11.19%
5
Premier Foods (LSE: PFD)
+8.70%
FALLERS
1
Johnston Press (LSE: JPR)
-16.58%
2
Admiral Group (LSE: ADM)
-15.22%
3
Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS)
-14.42%
4
Barclays (LSE: BARC)
-13.72%
5
Cable & Wireless (LSE: CW.)
-13.52%
The financial sector suffered losses once again amid speculation that more hedge fund collapses would put more pressure on the credit markets.
And share prices at many of the banks were also hit this week by going ex-dividend. Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS) sank 14%, Barclays (LSE: BARC) plummeted 14% and Lloyds TSB (LLOY) fell 10%.
HBOS (LSE: HBOS) was down 8% as share downgrades occurred. Last week, the firm revealed it had £7 billion exposure to so-called `Alt A' mortgages, the class up from sub-prime.
Mortgage lender Alliance & Leicester (LSE: AL.) fell 8% - and rival Bradford & Bingley (LSE: BB.) was dragged down 12%, as bid prospects weakened for both companies.
Financial services provider Friends Provident (LSE: FP.), which is trying to sell its majority stake in F&C Asset Management, took a double hit.
F&C Asset Management warned of a `deteriorating economic environment and volatile markets'. And investor worries - over whether a bid from JC Flowers would ever materialise - also contributed to the 12% downward spiral.
On a brighter note, miners continued their upward journey and dominated the FTSE 100 riser list as gold and platinum prices soared.
Lonmin (LSE: LMI) lifted 3% amid rumours that rival Xstrata was thinking of bidding for the platinum miner.
Anglo American (LSE: AAL) also sparkled up 4% on rumours of a possible bid from Xstrata.
Meanwhile Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ) was the top blue chip riser, zooming 8%, and Vedanta Resources (LSE: VED) took the number two spot, flashing up 5%.
International Ferro Metals (LSE: IFL), the South African producer of ferro-chrome, gained a whopping 21% on forecasts for the price of the mineral to soar from current record heights.
Elsewhere, shares in Johnston Press (LSE: JPR) dived by 17% after the newspaper group gave a warning of slowing advertising revenue.
And Admiral Group (LSE: ADM) was the biggest faller in the FTSE 100, running down 15% after it warned of slower motor insurance sales and greater market competition.
British Airways (LSE: BAY) also hit some turbulence, down 6% after warning that its fuel costs would soar on the back of the rising oil price, and profit margins would be hit as a result.
While communications giant Cable & Wireless (LSE: CW.) dropped 14% as investors reacted badly to its new growth plan.
However, a couple of beleaguered sectors did receive a boost. The property scene got a shot in the arm amid reports of a potential bid for Liberty International (LSE: LII), the shopping centre developer. It built a modest 2%.
And Premier Foods (LSE: PFD), the Hovis bread firm that's heavily in debt, recovered 9% after cutting its dividend and taking measures to save cash.
Computer games retailer Game Group (LSE: GMG) rose 5% after raising its sales guidance for this year and profit guidance for the year ended January 31st.
And strong results helped ground engineer Keller Group (LSE: KLR) rise 16%.
Finally, Yell Group (LSE: YELL) plummeted 12% as traders said it could drop out of the FTSE 100 at next week's quarterly index review.
Notable announcements next week: Monday:Bovis Homes, British Insurance Holdings
Tuesday:AMEC, Antofagasta, Cookson, Friends Provident, Greggs, Trafficmaster, Tullett Prebon, Weir
Wednesday:Aer Lingus, French Connection, Savills, Standard Life, Tullow Oil
Thursday:Home Retail, Premier Oil, SIG, Wm Morrison Supermarkets
Friday:Alliance Pharmacies, Collins Stewart, Prudential