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One for the money 

In opening trade, the FTSE 100 index was down 10.1 points at 6,951.1, having closing up 41.90 points yesterday at 6961.14 - yet another new record.

European markets were mixed, with Germany's Dax 30 index up 0.1 per cent but France's CAC 40 down 0.2 per cent, as investors continued to digest the mammoth €60billion a month ECB bond buying plan that will last until at least September 2016.

ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND - Chancellor George Osborne has said not radically restructuring Royal Bank of Scotland in 2010 was a mistake and added that he now would like 'to get rid of the stake as quickly as we can' after the general election.

THOMAS COOK - Chinese conglomerate Fosun International has bought a 5 per cent stake in the British travel group, deepening its foray into Europe's tourism sector after buying French holiday maker Club Med last month.

WEIR GROUP - The pumps engineer could attract bid interest, possibly from a US private equity consortium, according to the Daily Mail's Market Report 

ASTRAZENECA - The drugmaker said it would change the way it reported results with effect from the first quarter of 2015 to make revenue from so-called externalisation deals more visible to investors. 

BHP BILLITON - An Australian senator has called for an inquiry into suspected foreign bribery at top companies including miner BHP Billiton and contractor Leighton Holdings, saying the country needs tighter enforcement against corruption. 

AFREN - The oil producer's founder, Ethelbert Cooper is planning to change the company's capital structure with a new partnership involving a consortium of Chinese investors.

APR ENERGY - The energy group said it expected its full year net income to be 'significantly' below current market expectations, hurt by the suspension of its key Libyan operations.

The Footsie eased back in early deals this morning reflecting caution ahead of today's US February jobs report having hit a new closing high yesterday after the European Central Bank pressed the button on its €1trillion bond buying stimulus which will start on March 9.