Aug 15 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is expected to open 52
points lower at 7,096 on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers.
* RYANAIR: Ryanair's RYA.I directly employed pilots in Ireland will strike
for 48 hours next week, the Irish pilots' union Forsa/IALPA said on Wednesday,
after mediated talks failed to bring an agreement with the company over the
union's pay proposals. * SPORTS DIRECT: Sports Direct SPD.L has followed up a statement
announcing the departure of its auditor Grant Thornton with another saying its
board was comfortable with its latest accounts. * BARCLAYS: Barclays BARC.L is no longer providing banking services to
major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, sources familiar with the matter told
Reuters, ending a relationship that started in March last year as the exchange
expanded in Europe. * OIL: Oil prices fell on Thursday, adding to sharp overnight losses as U.S.
crude inventories unexpectedly rose, fears of recession mounted and economic
data out of China and Europe disappointed. * GOLD: Gold prices rose on Thursday, as investors flocked to safer havens
after an inverted U.S. bond yield curve pointed to new recession fears following
poor economic data from Germany and China. * EX-DIVS: Anglo American AAL.L , Ashtead AHT.L , Aviva AV.L , Evraz
EVRE.L , HSBC HSBA.L , Legal & General LGEN.L , Mondi MNDI.L , Phoenix
PHNX.L , Pearson PSON.L , RBS RBS.L , Shell RDSa.L , Segro SGRO.L and
Standard Life SLA.L will trade without entitlement to its latest dividend
pay-out on Thursday, trimming 29.9 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters
calculations. * Britain's FTSE 100 tumbled to its lowest in more than two months on
Wednesday after the yields on 10-year U.S. and UK government bonds fell below
two-year equivalents for the first time since the financial crisis, signalling
mounting fears of recession. UK CORPORATE DIARY:
Marshalls PLC MSLH.L Half Year Earnings Release
Kaz Minerals PLC KAZ.L Half Year Earnings Release
Georgia Capital PLC CGEO.L Half Year Earnings Release
GVC GVC.L Half Year Earnings Release
GEM Diamonds GEMD.L Trading Update Release Statement
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