Pick of the early market news

The FTSE 100 gave up 5.3 points yesterday, slipping 0.1% to 5,507. Shares across Europe were down with the German Dax giving away 2.01% of its value, down 118 points to 5,771. Trading generally was thin, with the euro hitting an 11-month low. However a new Italian bond auction saw the cost of Italian borrowing tumble sharply: the interest rate on €9bn worth of six-month bills was 3.25%.