February 1: FTSE100 Performance Analysis For This Day

Average percentage change for this day	0.18 %
Standard deviation	0.836
No. of times the FTSE has gone down today since 1984	7
No. of times FTSE has gone up today since 1984	6

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Metals data for today

	Gold	Silver	Platinum	Paladium
Day ranking (out of 365)
Avg. % change	0.46%	-0.104%	-0.191%	-4.13%
Standard deviation % change	1.382	1.748	1.312	19.993
No. of times price has gone up	12	11	9	2
No. of times price has gone down	8	13	10	2

Gold:since 1970, Silver : 1970, Platinum: 1976, Paladium: 1996

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Yahoo European Business
European Shares Open Flat (Reuters)
European stocks drift lower in cautious trade (FT.com)
European stocks higher amid relief over Iraq elections (AFP)
EU Urged to Shun Cuba Pending Reforms (AP)
German unemployment at 'moment of truth', minister says (AFP)
China, EU Tell Different Economic Tales (AP)
EU Tells Ukraine to Walk Before It Runs (Reuters)
EU countries reluctant to agree to UN appeal to take in more refugees (Canadian Press)
How to Vanquish Euro-Sclerosis (BusinessWeek Online)
EU Seeks to Improve Trade Among Nations (AP)
EU chief seeks renewal for flagging bloc (AFP)

On this day
2001 Pret a Manger sold a 33% stake in the company to McDonalds, though they argued that their approach would remain the same.
1973 European Common Agricultural Policy comes into operation.
1984 Chancellor, Nigel Lawson, announced that the unloved half-penny coin would be removed from circulation.

BBC - On This Day
2003: Columbia shuttle disintegrates killing seven
Seven astronauts die as Columbia breaks up on re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere leaving Nasa and the world in a state of shock and disbelief.
1979: Exiled Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran
Religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini makes a triumphant return to Iran after 14 years in exile.
1953: Violent storms claim hundreds of lives
Violent storms wreak havoc up and down the East coast of Britain claiming hundreds of lives.
1994: MPs condemn sale of Rover
There are angry clashes in the House of Commons over the sale of the last major British car manufacturer Rover.
1952: Test drive for TV detector vans
A new method for tracking down users of unlicensed television sets is unveiled in the UK.
1984: Halfpenny coin to meet its maker
Britain's least-loved currency is to leave the nation's purses after 13 years of almost universal unpopularity.

Wikipedia On This Day
Wikipedia entry for February 1