April 1: FTSE100 Performance Analysis For This Day

Average percentage change for this day	0.187 %
Standard deviation	1.074
No. of times the FTSE has gone down today since 1984	4
No. of times FTSE has gone up today since 1984	7

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Metals data for today

	Gold	Silver	Platinum	Paladium
Day ranking (out of 365)	259	101	223	114
Avg. % change	-0.104%	0.268%	-0.048%	0.069%
Standard deviation % change	1.204	5.83	1.911	0.712
No. of times price has gone up	7	8	5	2
No. of times price has gone down	8	10	10	2

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

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Yahoo European Business
French economy grew 2.4 per cent in 2004, now risks slowdown (Canadian Press)
Share Prices Fall on London Exchange (AP)
European stocks rebound after Wall Street rally (AFP)
German unemployed put Schroeder in stranglehold (AFP)
London shares end off lows as Wall St recovery provides some late cheer (AFP)
Bids for British stock exchange face competition probe delays (AFP)
Stocks End Higher on Economic Optimism (AP)
Chirac says EU fiscal reform won't affect euro's credibility (AFP)
Dollar Higher Against Yen in Asia Trading (AP)
Dollar Strength Helps European Stocks (Reuters)
EU rallies round France to head off constitution crisis (AFP)

On this day
1976 Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak incorporated the Apple Computer Company.
1973 VAT replaced other excise duties and Selective Employment Tax in the UK.

BBC - On This Day
1957: BBC fools the nation
The BBC receives a mixed reaction to a spoof documentary about spaghetti crops in Switzerland.
1990: Rioting inmates take over Strangeways
Up to 1,000 prisoners run amok at Strangeways Prison in Manchester in a violent protest against overcrowding.
2001: Ex-Yugoslav leader arrested after siege
Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic is arrested and taken to prison
2000: Wartime coding machine stolen
The Enigma machine, used by the Germans to encrypt messages in the Second World War, is stolen from Bletchley Park.
1983: Human chain links nuclear sites
Tens of thousands of peace demonstrators have formed a human chain stretching 14 miles (22.5 kilometres) across a southern English county.
1999: Britain gets first minimum wage
A legally-binding minimum rate of pay has been introduced in Britain for the first time.

Wikipedia On This Day
Wikipedia entry for April 1