(Adds news items, futures)
Nov 29 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 21
points lower at 7,396 on Friday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures
FFIc1 down 0.34% ahead of the cash market open.
* OCADO: Japan's biggest supermarket operator, Aeon Co Ltd 8267.T , hired
British online grocer Ocado Group OCDO.L on Thursday to expand in e-commerce,
hoping to fend off rivals such as Amazon AMZN.O , as more customers buy
groceries online. * NORTHGATE: Struggling British company Northgate Plc NTG.L said on Friday
it would buy peer Redde REDD.L , in what would create one of Britain's largest
vehicle rental services firm. * INVESTEC: Anglo-South African Investec Group said on Friday the demerger
of its asset management arm is set for March 13, when it will be renamed Ninety
One. The demerger remains subject to the approval of Investec Plc INVP.L and
Investec Ltd INLJ.J shareholders. * ASTRAZENECA: British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L said on Friday its
cancer drug Imfinzi has been granted a speedy review by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) for the treatment of a particularly aggressive type of lung
cancer. * NPOWER: A restructuring of British energy supplier Npower announced by new
parent E.ON EONGn.DE will result in 4,500 job cuts, British union UNISON said
in a press release. * REACH: British media company Reach Plc RCH.L on Friday said it was no
longer in active talks to buy some assets of The Yorkshire Post publisher JPI
Media. * ROYAL MAIL: Britain's Royal Mail RMG.L on Thursday confirmed that its
biggest union lost an appeal to overturn a High Court injunction to stop a
strike ahead of a general election and the holiday season next month.
* CONSUMER CONFIDENCE: British consumer confidence remained stuck at its
joint-lowest level since 2013 in November as uncertainty around the Dec. 12
election and Brexit weighed on households, a survey showed. * GOLD: Gold prices were little changed, but remained on track for their
worst month in three years as hopes for a preliminary U.S.-China trade deal
buoyed demand for riskier assets and the dollar. * OIL: Oil prices were steady in quiet trade with the U.S. Thanksgiving
holiday underway, while investors awaited a meeting of OPEC and its allies next
week that may result in the extension of a production cut agreement to support
the market. * The UK blue-chip index retreated from a near four-month high on Thursday,
weighed down by stocks trading ex-dividend and as U.S. ratification of
legislation on Hong Kong raised concerns that progress in trade talks with China
may be undone. TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times PRESS/FT
> Other business headlines PRESS/GB