(Adds news items, futures)
Aug 20 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is expected to open 4
points higher at 7192.5 on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers, with
futures FFIc1 up 0.1% ahead of the cash market open.
* FINABLR: United Arab Emirates-based payment solutions business Finablr
FINF.L , which listed in London in May, on Tuesday posted a 9.1% rise in
half-year group income, saying earnings were at the upper end of its guidance.
* WOOD: British oilfield services provider Wood Plc WG.L said it would
sell its nuclear energy business for about $305 million to Jacob Engineering
JEC.N and reported a 2.6% drop in first-half revenue. * BARCLAYS: Activist investor Edward Bramson is continuing to push for an
overhaul of British banking giant Barclays BARC.L , according to a report filed
by his investment vehicle Sherborne Investors SIGC.L . * PERSIMMON: Britain's second largest housebuilder Persimmon PSN.L
reported a slightly lower first-half pretax profit due to delays in delivering
properties that were close to completion as it focused on better quality and
customer service. * ASTRAZENECA: British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L said that its
diabetes drug Farxiga met the main goal of a late-stage study for the treatment
of patients with heart failure. * NON-STANDARD FINANCE: Doorstep lender Non-Standard Finance NSF.L posted
a massive first-half loss on Tuesday, partly due to costs related to its failed
takeover attempt of larger rival Provident Financial, while a strong market
demand led to a jump in adjusted earnings. * OFGEM: A blackout in Britain which left almost one million homes without
power on Aug. 9 was the result of a lightning strike, the grid operator said in
a preliminary report. * GREENE KING: British pubs operator Greene King GNK.L has agreed to a 4.6
billion pounds bid from a Hong Kong-listed company founded by the territory's
richest man Li Ka-Shing, which said it was seeking to increase its UK presence
even as Brexit looms. * BHP: BHP Group BHPB.L posted its largest annual profit in five years and
record full-year dividends, but its share price eased as the world's biggest
miner flagged global economic headwinds that could hit demand for its key
commodities, iron ore and copper. * OIL: Crude oil prices held mostly steady on optimism that U.S.-China trade
tensions would ease and on hopes that major economies would enact stimulus
measures to counter a possible global economic slowdown that could affect oil
demand. * GOLD: Gold prices were flat, after declining more than 1% in the previous
session hit by an uptick in risk appetite, while investors awaited meetings by
policy-makers later in the week for clues on possible interest rate cuts.
* London's FTSE 100 bagged gains of 1% on Monday led by oil majors and
Asia-exposed banks that rose on moves by China to keep business interest rates
low, while pub operator Greene King helped midcaps outshine after agreeing to be
bought out.
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
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