HOW BRITAIN'S BIGGEST HAVE PERFORMED

Markets

Today we adopt a new presentation for the FT-SE 100 stocks. Rather than rank them by size we will now rank them by their performance over the past three months. We hope the new format will give a much clearer idea of how stocks are faring against their peers and the index as a whole.

In a dazzling week, the FT-SE reached a new record high of 4,341. The star performer was safe, solid Unilever. Its shares rose 12.4 per cent as investors gave its new chairman a vote of confidence on glittering figures for last year.

Cable & Wireless rose 9.5 per cent after its announcement that it had sold its 45 per cent stake in the German company Vebacom and that it is talking to companies like AT&T and Sprint Corp in the US about possible joint ventures.

Williams Holdings suffered the biggest decline, falling 9.9 per cent after it announced it was paying pounds 1.3bn in cash and stock for Chubb Security. Investors sold on concern that Williams could not afford the acquisition. Copyright: IOS & Bloomberg