(Adds company news items, futures)
June 27 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen
opening 6 points higher at 7,423 on Thursday, according to
financial bookmakers, with futures FFIc1 up 0.14% ahead of the
cash market open.
* STAFFLINE: Staffline Group STAF.L on Thursday said it
had been investigating its financial statements after its
auditors received an anonymous email in January, which made
certain allegations related to its payroll and how it recorded
invoices. * GREENE KING: Britain's Greene King GNK.L reported higher
annual profit, boosted mainly by last year's football World Cup,
but said the unseasonable wet summer season had hurt the pub
operator's sales in the first eight weeks of the year.
* PENDRAGON: Pendragon Plc PDG.L said on Thursday its
Chief Executive Officer Mark Herbert will be stepping down just
months after taking the top job.
* SERCO: Serco SRP.L nudged its full-year revenue target
higher on Wednesday after a recent run of contract wins helped
the British outsourcer to stand out in an otherwise troubled
sector. * KINGFISHER: British home improvement retailer Kingfisher
KGF.L said on Thursday Thierry Garnier will be its new chief
executive, succeeding Véronique Laury. * LEGAL & GENERAL: British insurer Legal & General LGEN.L
has announced plans to invest up to 4 billion pounds ($5.07
billion) in a 10-year house-building partnership with the
University of Oxford.
* VODAFONE: Vodafone VOD.L is set to secure EU antitrust
approval for its $22 billion bid for Liberty Global's LBTYA.O
cable networks in Germany and central Europe after offering
concessions in May, people familiar with the matter said on
Wednesday. * BP: BP BP.L is returning to the animal feed business a
quarter of a century after exiting the sector. The oil and gas
company said it is investing $30 million in Calysta Inc., which
produces protein for fish, livestock and pet food. * BRITISH ELECTIONS: Boris Johnson, the favourite to become
British prime minister, said the chances of Britain leaving the
European Union without a deal are "a million-to-one" even as he
repeated his promise to leave the bloc without a deal by the end
of October. * G20: Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet outgoing
British Prime Minister Theresa May at this week's G20 summit in
Japan with a view to seeking improved relations between the
countries, the Kremlin said on Wednesday. * OIL: Oil fell on Thursday, erasing some of the previous
session's strong gains, as traders await the G20 summit in Japan
and a meeting of OPEC and other oil producers to decide on an
extension of output cuts. * GOLD: Gold prices were little changed on Thursday
following a steep fall in the previous session, as investors
waited on any Sino-U.S. trade developments later this week,
while bulls rolled back hopes of big U.S. interest rate cuts.
* EX-DIVS: British American Tobacco BATS.L , British Land
Co BLND.L , Burberry Group BRBY.L , Experian EXPN.L and JD
Sports JD.L will trade without entitlement to their latest
dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 6.18 points off the FTSE
100 according to Reuters calculations * London's main index edged down 0.1% on Wednesday as
investor anxiety after the U.S. Federal Reserve tampered
expectations of interest rate cuts was compounded by
Washington's ambiguous signals on trade negotiations with China.
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please
click on: LIVE/
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