(Corrects to add dropped words in eighth bullet)
March 8 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen
opening 46 points higher at 6,676 on Monday, according to
financial bookmakers.
* ECONOMY: The United Kingdom lost market share in the
United States, Germany and China during the COVID-19 pandemic
due to global trade chaos, Brexit and poor productivity,
according to new research published. * OIL: Brent crude futures surged above $70 a barrel for the
first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, while U.S. crude
touched its highest in more than two years, following reports of
attacks on Saudi Arabian facilities. * ASTRAZENECA: Austrian authorities have suspended
inoculations with a batch of AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN)'s AZN.L COVID-19
vaccine as a precaution while investigating the death of one
person and the illness of another after the shots, a health
agency said on Sunday. * ASTRAZENECA: The European Union will urge the United
States to permit the export of millions of doses of
AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to Europe, underlining Brussels'
scramble to bridge supply shortfalls, the Financial Times
reported on Saturday. * BT: BT BT.L denied any "misalignment" between board and
management on Saturday after Sky News said that CEO Philip
Jansen had indicated he might resign unless the company replaced
its chairman. * OPPOSITION: Britain's opposition Labour Party called the
government's pay offer to health workers "reprehensible" on
Sunday and pledged to vote against its freeze on income tax
thresholds, stepping up criticism of the budget. * SHELL: Ecuador's state-owned oil company Petroecuador said
on Saturday that it had awarded a tender to export some 1.44
million barrels of Oriente-grade crude to a unit of Royal Dutch
Shell PLC RDSa.L . * London's FTSE 100 ended down on Friday as concerns around
U.S. bond yields and sluggishness in the British housing market
outweighed strength in energy stocks and weakness in the pound.
UK CORPORATE DIARY:
Direct Line Insurance DLGD.L FY results
Diversified Gas & Oil DGOC.L FY results
Network International NETW.L FY results
Senior Plc SNR.L FY results
Phoenix Group PHNX.L FY results
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please
click on: LIVE/
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times PRESS/FT
> Other business headlines PRESS/GB