London’s equities markets saw declines on Friday.

The FTSE 100 1.17 percent lower to 6,289.3 and the FTSE 250 falling 1.95 percent to 10,954.

Northern Rock (LSE: NRK) had the worst performance by far on the 100, falling 31.46 percent to 438p after it had to ask the Bank of England for help after it could not find a place to borrow money from traditional sources and customers lined up outside branches of the bank to withdraw their money from accounts.

The trouble extended to other banks, with Alliance & Leicester (LSE: AL) dropping 6.88 percent to 873p.

Mortgage lenders were also hurt.

Paragon (LSE: PAG) was down 16.76 percent to 298p for the worst day on the 250.

It was followed by fellow mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley (LSE: BB), which was 7.7 percent lower to 329.75.

Homebuilders were also lower on the day.

Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV) dropped 4.71 percent to 829p and Persimmon (LSE: PSN) was down 6.62 percent to £10.16 on the 250, while Bellway (LSE: BWY) fell 7.54 percent to £10.67 on the 100.

Oil-related shares saw gains on the 250.

Burren Energy (LSE: BUR) was up 1.79 percent to 853p, while Dana Petroleum (LSE: DNX) added 1.94 percent to £10 and JKX Oil & Gas (LSE: JKX) was 2.25 percent higher to 397.75p.

Gold miner Hochschild (LSE: HOC) had the best day on the 250 as it gained 3.83 percent to 345.25p.

Chemicals group Reckitt Benckiser (LSE: RB) was the best performer on the 100, adding 1.49 percent to £27.99.

Publisher Reed Elsevier (LSE: REL; Euronext: REN; NYSE: ENL; NYSE: RUK) was 1.08 percent higher to 608p, and DIY retailer Kingfisher (LSE: KFG) closed at 196.6p, a gain of 0.2 percent.

In London on Monday the FTSE 100 added 0.24 percent to 6,078.7 while the FTSE 250 was 0.16 percent higher to 10,703.8.

Power generators had a good day in London.

Drax Group (LSE: DRX) gained 1.9 percent to 634.5p, while electricity generator British Energy (LSE: BGY) was up 4.58 percent to 451.25p for the best performance on the 100.

Electricity transmitter Scottish & Southern Energy (LSE: SSE) was 1.7 percent higher to £14.44.

Miners also did well after metals prices advanced.

Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) gained 3.22 percent to £30.78, while Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ) added 4 percent to £11.70 and BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; NYSE: BHP; ASX: BHP) was 4.17 percent higher to £12.75.

The aerospace sector was up with BAE Systems (LSE: BA; OTCBB; BAESY) 3.48 percent higher to 431p and Meggitt (LSE: MGGT) adding 4.73 percent to 298.75p.

The best performer on the 250 was care homes operator Southern Cross Healthcare (LSE: SCHE), which gained 6.93 percent to 470.5p.

Insurers were mixed.

Prudential (LSE: PRU; NYSE: PUK) was up 1.1 percent to 657.5p, but Old Mutual (LSE: OML; JSE: OLOML) dropped 2.16 percent to 149.4p.

Property developers and investors were lower on the session.

British Land (LSE: BLND) had the worst day on the 100 as it fell 3.46 percent to £11.98. SEGRO (LSE: SGRO) fell 2.66 percent to 513p, while Daejan Holdings dropped 4.86 percent on the 250 to £33.30.

Publisher Reed Elsevier (LSE: REL; Euronext: REN; NYSE: ENL; NYSE: RUK) dropped 2.61 to 578p.

In London on Tuesday the FTSE 100 fell 0.58 percent to 6,659.1, while the FTSE 250 was 0.98 percent lower to 11,801.

Food processor Tate & Lyle (LSE: TATE) had the best day on the FTSE 100, adding 4.81 percent to 599.5p on an upgrade from “neutral” to “buy” from Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS).

Meanwhile Inmarsat, the telecommunications satellite operator, gained 5.08 percent to 434p on the FTSE 250 for the best performance there.

The biggest loser on the day on the 100 was Lonmin (LSE: LMI), which dropped 3.89 percent to £38.30 on the 100 after both Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Deutsche Bank (FWB: DBK; NYSE: DB) lowered the miner‘s target share price.

On the 250, investment trust Ashmore dropped 3.51 percent to 268.25p for the worst day on the 250.

Banks saw gains.

Barclays Bank (LSE: BARC; NYSE: BCS; :TYO: 8642) was 0.48 percent higher to 732p, while Lloyds TSB (LSE: LLOY) gained 0.53 percent to 572p.

Gyrus Group (LSE: GYG), which makes and sells surgical supplies, added 2.73 percent to 469.75p.

Investment managers Schroders (LSE: SDR) fell 3.61 percent to £12.80, while its non-voting shares dropped 3.22 percent to £11.41.

Rolls-Royce (LSE: RR) was 2.83 percent lower to 548.5p after Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS; SWX: CSGN) dropped its recommendation on the airplane engine maker from “outperform” to “neutral”.

Meanwhile, Reed Elsevier (LSE: REL; Euronext: REN; NYSE: ENL; NYSE: RUK) fell 2.81 percent to 656p on the news that it is selling its Harcourt educational division to Houghton Mifflin.

The FTSE 100 dropped 0.28 percent to 6,697.7 in London on Monday, while the FTSE 250 was 0.05 percent lower to 11,917.3.

The mining and oil sectors were lower in London.

Platinum miner Lonmin (LSE: LMI) dropped 6.85 percent to £39.85 for the worst performance of the session on the FTSE 100 after it issued a disappointing trading statement, saying that sales will be lower for the next year.

The announcement prompted a downgrade from Citigroup (NYSE: C).

Xstrata (LSE: XTA) was also lower, falling 1.78 percent to £33.61.

In the oil sector, Royal Dutch Shell’s (LSE: RDSA, RDSB; NYSE: RDS.A, RDS.B) A shares were 1.59 percent lower to £20.40.

BG Group (LSE: BG; NSYE: BG) was also lower, dropping 2.34 percent to 857p.

On the FTSE 250, Premier Oil (LSE: PMO) fell 2.57 percent to £11.75, while Burren Energy (LSE: BUR) was down 2.79 percent to 853.5p.

Back on the 100, SEGRO (LSE: SLOU), the rebrand of property development group Slough Estates, fell 2.04 percent to 599p.

Top gainers on the 100 covered several sectors, with bank Alliance & Leicester (LSE: AL) doing the best as it added 2.49 percent to £11.52.

Publisher Reed Elsevier (LSE: REL; Euronext: REN; NSYE: ENL; NYSE: RUK) was 1.66 percent higher to 675p, while in the pharmaceuticals sector, GlaxoSmithKline gained 1.63 percent to £13.10 on an upgrade from “underweight” to “neutral” from JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634).

The London equities markets saw advances on Thursday, helped out by the drinks sector and the announcement that Reed Elsevier will sell one of its divisions. The FTSE 100 added 0.19 percent to 6,433.3, while the FTSE 250 gained 0.29 percent to 11,574.60.

The drinks sector was helped out by Diageo, which posted higher half-year earnings even though there were challenges in some markets and a weakening of the dollar. The maker of Johnnie Walker whisky added 2.35 percent to on the day. Brewers were also boosted by a report that InBev is talking with US company Anheuser-Busch about a merger deal. SABMiller gained 1.9 percent to £11.98, while Scottish & Newcastle was 2.3 percent higher to 579p. S&N also benefited from rumors that it could be talking with Carlsberg about a deal.

Reed Elsevier added 6.6 percent to 644½p after it said it will sell its education publishing unit. The gain came even though its full-year report on earnings and revenue was below what had been anticipated.

Defense contractor BAE Systems was 2.5 percent higher to 454p ahead of a report due next week, after Credit Suisse upped its target share price from 465p to 500p.

Plumber Wolseley was hurt after Merrill Lynch removed it from its “buy” list, dropping 2.3 percent to £13.75.

London equities markets were lower on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 down 0.2 percent to 6,204.5 and the FTSE 250 down 0.3 percent to 11,094.6. Volume was at an active 3.5 billion shares traded on the session.

The retail sector was widely mixed. J Sainsbury was 0.6 percent higher to 427p on rumors that a group of Icelandic investors had bought a stake of nearly 3 percent in the supermarket.

On the other hand, department store Debenhams was 0.4 percent lower to 170¼p after going as low as 168¾p earlier in the session on rumors that an investor has taken advantage of low its low share price to build a stake. A volume of 40 million shares in the company changing hands on Tuesday and 33 million more shares traded on Wednesday added substance to the rumors.

Electrical retailer DSG International, meanwhile, fell 12 percent to 171p on a trading statement that disappointed.

Publishers had a good day. Reed Elsevier gained 0.4 percent to 598½p, while Pearson was up 3 percent to 824½p after it was said that private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts might be interested.

In the oil sector, Royal Dutch Shell dropped 0.2 percent to £17.11 on the low price of oil.

SABMiller added 4.7 percent for the best performance on the 100, trading at £12.26. The brewer’s fiscal third quarter figures were better than had been anticipated.

The FTSE 100 in London had a roller-coaster day in which it was up early, dropped after the Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, then rallied late in the day to end up 1.1 percent higher, to 6,230.1. The FTSE 250 also ended the day higher, adding 0.3 percent to 11,123.4

Publishers and other media stocks were up on the day. Reed Elsevier and Yell Group each added 3.5 percent on the session, to 602½p and 598p respectively. Yell was helped by positive comments from Goldman Sachs, while Reed Elsevier gained on talk that private equity might be preparing a bid. Reuters gained 3.6 percent to 451¾p. Meanwhile Pearson, which owns the Financial Times, was 3.7 percent higher to 805p. Elsewhere in media, ITV was up 2.1 percent to 109¼p on a upgrade to “buy” from Deutsche Bank.

Banks saw gains as well, with Lloyds TSB adding 0.9 percent to 583p on rumors that either Banco Santander or BBVA could be interested.

In the mining sector, Kazakhmys gained 3.9 percent to £10.53, while BHP Billiton was 4.9 percent higher to 930p as metals prices began to recover.

Pubs operators declined on negative comment from Deutsche Bank. Enterprise Inns dropped 1.7 percent to £12.77 and Punch Taverns fell 3.7 percent to £11.69.

The homebuilding sector saw losses after interest rates were hiked. Persimmon was 1 percent lower to £14.57, while Redrow fell 3.2 percent to 668½p.

In London on Wednesday equities markets were lower, with the FTSE 100 down 0.6 percent to 6,160.7 and the FTSE 250 also 0.6 percent lower, to 11,086.

Publishers, however, did well on the session. Reed Elsevier added 1.2 percent to 582p on comments from Credit Suisse that indicated the Anglo-Dutch publisher could be the target of a leveraged buyout. Yell Group, Yellow Pages publisher, was 2.1 percent higher to 578p on mixed remarks from brokers.

In the media sector, BSkyB also benefited from broker comments, adding 1.9 percent to 582p after Tuesday’s upgrade from Morgan Stanley.

Foods retailer Wm Morrison was also higher on the session, adding 6 percent to 286¼p on better sales than expected during the holiday period.

The tobacco sector was mixed. Imperial Tobacco dropped 0.1 percent to £20.80, but British American Tobacco gained 2.2 percent to £14.91 on positive comments from Dresdner Kleinwort.

Telecommunications companies saw declines. BT was 1.2 percent lower to 316½p on a downgrade from Investec, while Vodafone dropped 2.5 percent to 145¾p and Cable & Wireless fell 2.9 percent to 156¾p.

Pubs operators were lower after the chief executive of Enterprise Inns said that the introduction of real estate investment trusts would not likely provide any benefit to shareholders in the short term. Enterprise dropped 2.1 percent to £12.99, while Punch Taverns fell 3 percent to £12.14.

The London equities markets were mixed on Monday, with the FTSE 100 adding 0.5 percent to 6,030.9 but the FTSE 250 dropping 0.2 percent to 10, 152.3.

The pharmaceuticals sector was higher on the session. Glaxo-Smith-Kline gained 0.6 percent to £14.54 on talk that it is engaged in discussions with Novartis concerning a merger. Shire added 14.9 percent for the best performance among blue-chips, to £10.08 when the Food and Drug Administration in the United States approved its NRP104 treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder for use there.

Media companies didn’t have nearly so good a day. Reed Elsevier dropped 1 percent to 588½p on rumors that a profits warning is forthcoming. EMI fell 1.9 percent to 264¾p in anticipation of a less than encouraging trading update due next week. ITV, meanwhile, was 2.2 percent lower to 100¼p when UBS lowered its advertising growth prediction for the broadcaster, removed it from its “buy” list, and cut its earnings per share forecast for both this year and next.

Homebuilders were mixed, with Redrow up 1.4 percent to 630p but Barratt Developments 1.6 percent lower to £10.98 as rumors that Barratt is interested in a takeover of Redrow continued to ciruclate.

In the steel sector, Corus added 2.7 percent to 494p on reports that Tata Steel of India could be close to an offer worth £5 billion.

Marks and Spencer was 1.3 percent higher to 662½p, near a record high, on positive comments and an increased target share price from Morgan Stanley.

The FTSE 100 dropped 0.9 percent to 5,929.3 on Wednesday for its largest one-day decline in a month after labor data from the United States renewed fears that inflation would grow. In addition, crude oil prices fell again, sending oil stocks lower. The FTSE 250 was also down on the session, by 0.6 percent to 9,700.9.

In the mining sector, Xstrata was 2.3 percent lower to £24.18 on rumors that it will launch a rights issue worth 2.75 billion in order to finance its purchase of Canadian copper and nickel miner Falconbridge.

A number of sectors were weak, with some declines coming on broker downgrades. For example, coal fired power station operator Drax dropped 3.3 percent to 907p on a downgrade from “buy” to “neutral” from Merrill Lynch. Still, Drax is up 82 percent since the beginning of the year.

In the banking sector, Barclays dropped 1.2 percent to 665p on a lengthy “sell” recommendation from Citigroup, which said that new capital adequacy rules will have a harmful effect on Barclays’ investment banking business.

The recommendations were not all negative, however. Next added 0.8 percent to £16.80 on a “buy” recommendation from Deutsche Bank that came just a day after a similar rating by Man Securities. Anglo-Dutch publisher Reed Elsevier also benefited from positive comments, gaining 0.8 percent to 569p after UBS repeated its “buy” recommendation.

Also seeing gains during the session was PartyGaming, up 0.6 percent to 117¼p.