Aug 23 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 28
points higher at 7,156 on Friday, according to financial bookmakers.
* BT GROUP: Britain's BT Group Plc BT.L is in talks to sell its corporate
business in Ireland to London-based Mayfair Equity Partners, a Sky News reporter
tweeted on Thursday. * EDDIE STOBART LOGISTICS: Eddie Stobart Logistics Plc ESLE.L will
announce on Friday that Chief Executive Officer Alex Laffey will step down
following a multimillion-pound accounting error, Sky News reported on Thursday.
* ENTERTAINMENT ONE: U.S. toymaker Hasbro Inc HAS.O will buy Entertainment
One Ltd ETO.L for about $4 billion in cash, adding the independent studio with
preschool brands such as Peppa Pig to the U.S. company known for Nerf and Power
Rangers, the companies said on Thursday.
* SHELL: Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L has restarted the coker at its
225,300-barrel-per-day (bpd) Norco, Louisiana, refinery, sources familiar with
plant operations said on Thursday.
* OIL : Oil prices clawed back the previous day's losses on Friday, with
Brent nudging above $60 a barrel, as tighter supplies from key producers offset
slowing demand growth and investors await clues on the U.S. Federal Reserve's
monetary policy. * GOLD: Gold eased on Friday and was set for its worst week in nearly five
months, as lack of clarity from U.S. Federal Reserve on the outlook for interest
rate cuts triggered investors to cash in some gains ahead of Jerome Powell's
speech at Jackson Hole. * London's FTSE 100 fell 1.1%, on Thursday as the latest signals from the
U.S. Federal Reserve dampened hopes of hefty interest rate cuts, while exporter
stocks slipped as the pound rose after German Chancellor Angela Merkel's
comments on the Brexit deal. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
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* UK CORPORATE DIARY:
Computacenter CCC.L Half Year Earnings Release
Henry Boot BOOT.L Half Year Earnings Release
Sports Direct SPD.L Half Year Earnings Release
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