(Adds company news items and futures)
Aug 15 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 futures FFIc1 were up 0.25% ahead of
the cash market open on Thursday.
* GVC: GVC GVC.L on Thursday raised its full-year outlook after its UK
retail business performed better than feared in the first half, and the
Ladbrokes owner said it expects to shut about 100 fewer shops than previously
planned. * KAZ MINERALS: Miner Kaz Minerals KAZ.L said on Thursday its short-term
outlook for the copper market was more cautious in the face of a prolonged
Sino-U.S. trade war and a slowdown in the world's top metals consumer China,
after posting a lower first-half profit. * 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. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
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