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Aug 14 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is expected to open 21
points higher at 7,272 on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers, with
futures FFIc1 up 0.2% ahead of the cash market open.
* BALFOUR BEATTY: British infrastructure company Balfour Beatty Plc BALF.L
reported higher first-half underlying pretax profit and increased its annual
cash forecast on Wednesday, buoyed by lower costs and higher margin projects.
* AVAST: Cybersecurity company Avast AVST.L said revenue growth for the
year would be at the upper end of its high, single digit percentage range after
a strong first half, driven by demand for products like VPN and AntiTrack that
help secure users' privacy. ADMIRAL: British insurer Admiral ADML.L on Wednesday posted a 4% rise in
pretax profit in the first half of the year, driven by strong performance in its
UK business. * STANDARD CHARTERED: Standard Chartered STAN.L is targeting growing its
private banking assets by 50% to about $100 billion in three to five years and
hire dozens of bankers in Hong Kong and Singapore towards that goal, a senior
executive of the lender said. * LOOKERS PLC: Car dealership Lookers Plc LOOK.L on Wednesday posted a steep
drop in first-half profit and said it sees higher costs over the next several
years, as it carves out a plan to fix some issues it found in its sales
practices. * BANK OF GEORGIA: London-listed Bank of Georgia BGEO.L reported a 36.9%
rise in first-half profit on the back of strong lending at its retail banking
business, while its overall margins were hurt by pricing pressure in the
unsecured consumer lending market. * GLENCORE: Global commodity miner and trader Glencore GLEN.L on Wednesday
lost its case to stop Australian tax authorities using business information that
was leaked as part of the so-called Paradise Papers. The ruling potentially
opens the door for Glencore to receive a backdated tax bill. * RYANAIR: Ryanair's RYA.I directly employed pilots in Ireland agreed to
attend mediated talks starting on Wednesday to avert a strike their trade union
said would go ahead next week if the airline does not properly address a pay
claim. * OIL: Oil prices fell on Wednesday on disappointing economic data from
China and a rise in U.S. crude inventories, erasing some of the sharp gains in
the previous session on signs of an easing in Sino-U.S. trade tensions.
* GOLD: Gold prices dipped on Wednesday after the United States delayed
tariffs on some Chinese imports, easing trade concerns, although political
uncertainties and lingering global growth concerns limited losses for the
safe-haven metal.
* UK's FTSE 100 .FTSE ended 0.3% higher on Tuesday, reversing earlier
losses, after the United States said it would delay tariffs on some Chinese
products, offering respite to investors who had been gripped with fears over the
trade dispute. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
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