FTSE 100: BT accelerates on pension deal BT said it would pay £2bn into its pension fund this month as part of a new, nine-year deal that results in much smaller annual cash payments. BT, which has been dogged in recent years by its pension and the drag it placed on dividend payouts, said a new triennial funding valuation had put the deficit at the end of June at £4.1bn, compared with a deficit of £9bn when it last evaluated the scheme in 2008. That sent BT's shares up 6pc as the benchmark index moved gingerly upwards. Having been knocked back on Thursday by fears of slowing growth in China, the FTSE 100 edged up 6 points to 5852. Retailers were in the ascendant too. Next added 2.4pc as brokers raised their price targets on the high street chain following its annual results on Thursday. The same went for Kingfisher, with the DIY retailer putting on almost 2pc. Supermarkets Morrisons and Tesco climbed 1.5pc and 1.2pc respectively. But at the other end of the scale, Randgold Resources continued its decline amid concerns over the repercussions of political unrest in Mali. The miner has said that its operations in the West African country are running normally, but it shed another 2pc. Among the second-liners, Essar Energy jumped almost 11pc after Morgan Stanley raised its rating on the power refiner and generator to "overweight."