Leading shares closed near lows as Wall Street fell back into negative territory with Friends Provident lower after JC Flowers threatened to withdraw its offer if the group does not enter takeover talks by Friday. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was down 63.9 points at 5,831.6, having been down as much as 68.5 points earlier in the session. The FTSE 250 was 85.9 points lower at 9,845.5. Full Story