Spain and Italy Debt Auctions Beat Hopes

This Is Money: Encouraging outcomes of debt auctions in Italy and Spain helped to ease some of the fears over the ongoing debt crisis in the euro zone. Meanwhile, data out of the US suggested that retail performance over the holiday season was ultimately a disappointment compared to many forecasts. Paul Bregg, FX Trader at Western Union Business Solutions, comments for leading financial website This Is MONEY:

This Is MONEY:

Tesco dragged London's leading shares index down today after its shares fell 16 per cent following a grim Christmas update and profits warning.

The UK's biggest supermarket admitted that profits growth would be at the low end of expectations this year following a 2.3 per cent drop in like-for-like sales in the six weeks to January 7.

Its shares fell 61.6p to 323.5p - to a near-three year low.

With nearly £5 billion wiped off Tesco's share price and several other retailers also in the red, the FTSE 100 Index lost earlier gains to fall 8.4 points to 5662.4.

London's blue chip shares index failed to make progress despite a strong performance by miners and encouraging bond auctions in Italy and Spain, which eased fears over the eurozone debt crisis.

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