Dec 23 (Reuters) - Britain's futures .FFIC1 were down 0.10% pre-market on
Monday.
* BREXIT: The European Union's central interest in forging a free trade
agreement with Britain is to agree common social and environmental standards and
avoid a "race to the bottom", the EU chief Brexit negotiator wrote in an opinion
piece. * GSK: GlaxoSmithKline's GSK.L HIV drugs division ViiV Healthcare said on
Saturday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve its long
acting HIV injection. * COBHAM: The British government has approved Advent International's $5
billion purchase of defence company Cobham Plc COB.L after the U.S. private
equity group offered a number of commitments to address national security
concerns. * TESCO: British supermarket giant Tesco TSCO.L suspended a Chinese
supplier of Christmas cards on Sunday after a press report said a customer found
a message written inside a card saying it had been packed by foreign prisoners
who were victims of forced labour. * OIL: Oil prices slipped on Monday, but held near recent three-month highs
amid optimism that the United States and China are close to signing a trade
deal, with President Donald Trump saying an agreement would be signed "very
shortly". * GOLD: Gold prices edged up in low-volume trading, ahead of the Christmas
and New Year holidays, as investors awaited solid developments on the U.S.-China
trade front.
* The FTSE 100 .FTSE closed up 0.1% on Friday as shares of exporters
continued to benefit from a pound that is subdued amid renewed concerns about a
chaotic Brexit at the end of 2020. UK CORPORATE DIARY:
Income and Growth VCT IGVI.L Full Year 2019 Earnings Release
JPMorgan Indian Investment JII.L Full Year 2019 Earnings Release
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