Markets in London were lower as well, with the FTSE 100 down 1.21 percent to 6,143.5 and the FTSE 250 at 10,998.6, a decline of 1.52 percent.

Food retailer Wm Morrison (LSE: MRW) was 2.8 percent lower to 258.5p after it removed sliced cold meats from two stores in Scotland after an outbreak of E. coli that resulted in one death.

Miners were mixed on the day.

Lonmin (LSE: LMI) led gainers on the 100 as it added 1.7 percent to £31.14, but Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) fell 1.4 percent to £31.75 and BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; NYSE: BHP; ASX: BHP) was 3.71 percent lower to £12.98.

The worst performance on the 100 came from publisher Yell Group (LSE: YELL), which was down 3.81 percent to 454.4p.

Beverage can maker Rexam (LSE: REX) dropped 3.54 percent to 504.5p, while chemicals group Johnson Matthey fell 3.73 percent to £16.27.

Two other individuals were reported to be in hospital.

Decliners on the 250 included property developer Daejan Holdings (LSE: DJAN), which was down 5.56 percent to £34.00.

Construction firm Kier Group (LSE: KIE) had the worst day on the 250, with a decline of 6.15 percent to £18.76.

British Airways was 0.5 percent higher on the 100 to 403p.

Human resources specialist Capita Group (LSE: CPI) added 0.75 percent to 739p, while in the telecommunications sector BT Group (LSE: BT.A; NYSE: BT) gained 0.81 percent to 310.5p.

Brewer Scottish & Newcastle (LSE: SCTN) was 1.31 percent higher to 580p on the possibility that it could be acquired by Danish brewer Carlsberg (OMX: CARL A, CARL B), which has been reported to have said it is in the market to purchase another beer maker.

Neither Carlsberg nor Scottish & Newcastle would comment on the reports.

Equities markets in London saw big losses on Tuesday’s session.

The FTSE 100 fell 1.9 percent to 6,498.7, while the FTSE 250 dropped 1.68 percent to 11,584.

Retailers were lower after sporting good retailer Sports Direct (LSE: SPD) dropped 22.63 percent to 147p after it issued its second profits warning since it’s IPO in February, prompting negative broker comment.

Other retailers seeing declines included GAME Group (LSE: EBQ), which fell 6.86 percent to 193.5p.

Home Retail (LSE: HOME) was 3.28 percent lower to 427.25p, while clothing retailer Next (LSE: NXT) was down 2.66 percent to £18.67 and DIY retailer Kingfisher (LSE: KFG) dropped 2.25 percent to 217.5p.

Electric power generators were lower as well.

British Energy (LSE: BGY) had the worst day on the 100 as it fell 4.5 percent to 509p, while Drax Group (LSE: DRX) was 3.84 percent lower to 700.5p.

Miners were also lower, with Anglo American (LSE: AAL) down 3.81 percent to £31.33 and Lonmin (LSE: LMI) dropping 3.88 percent to £35.90.

Insurer Old Mutual was 3.93 percent lower to 168.7p after talk that South African bank Nedbank (JSE: NED), in which Old Mutual owns a majority stake, might be the target of a takeover.

There were gainers on the day.

Spread betting specialist IG Group Holdings (LSE: IGG) added 9.21 percent to 341p for the best performance of the day on the 250, while consumer products group Reckitt Benckiser (LSE: RB) had the best day on the 100 with a gain of 1.14 percent to £27.48 ahead of its quarterly report.

Other gainers included phone book publisher Yell Group (LSE: YELL), which added 0.69 percent to 472.5p on positive fiscal first quarter results.

Imperial Tobacco (LSE: IMT) gained 0.78 percent to £23.13.

The London equities markets were mixed on Monday as only 2.5 billion shares traded hands on the session. The FTSE 100 added 0.2 percent to 6,239.9, but the FTSE 250 dropped 0.1 percent to 11,104.

In the airlines sector, British Airways added 2.7 percent to 542p as investors were relieved that a threatened 2-day strike by cabin crew members had been avoided.

Tobacco did well ahead of results due later in the week from British American Tobacco. Citigroup said that BAT could return an estimated £1.5 billion to shareholders without harm to its credit rating. The figure was much higher than the £500 million it currently returns each year. BAT gained 2.8 percent to a record high share price of £15.60. Imperial Tobacco was 0.8 percent higher, to £21.24.

Publisher Yell Group gained 1.5 percent to 608p on positive comments from Merrill Lynch.

Pubs operator Mitchells & Butlers was 1 percent higher to 686½p on reaction to the news that financier Robert Tchenguiz has increased his holding in the company to almost 15 percent.

Brewer SABMiller dropped 1.1 percent to £11.70 as Goldman Sachs took it off it’s “buy” list on valuation concerns.

J. Sainsbury also fell 1.1 percent, to 432½p, as one shareholider placed 12 million shares with Morgan Stanley. The shares were priced at 432p each.

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 FTSE 100 dropped 0.4 percent to 6,025.9 in London on Tuesday, ending lower for the sixth straight session and at its lowest level since the beginning of October. It has fallen 2.9 percent since its current decline began. On the other hand, the FTSE 250 was up slightly to 10,497.2.

Homebuilder Wilson Bowden was 3.7 percent higher on the session to £21.76 and Merrill Lynch raised its target share price to £24.50. Also helping the 250 was EMI; the music company added 10.4 percent to 289½p on the news that it has been approached.

The 100 was hurt by losses in the financial services sector, as Old Mutual dropped 5.8 percent to 166p on its third quarter earnings report.

Also seeing declines was ITV, which dropped 1.5 percent to 110¾p on the general opinion that the appointment of a new executive chairman makes any bids unlikely.

In the steel sector, Corus fell 0.3 percent to 498p on rumors that Tata Steel is thinking of increasing its bid. Meanwhile it put off a vote by shareholders to see if CSN of Brazil will up its offer.

Gainers on the session included tobacco company Gallaher, which added 1.7 percent to 952p on talk that Japan Tobacco might be interested. Also higher was yellow pages owner Yell, which was 2.3 percent higher to 570p on positive comments from Goldman Sachs.