(Adds futures, news items)
March 6 - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 114 point lower
on Friday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures FFIc1 down 1.8%
ahead of the cash market open.
* AVIVA: British insurer Aviva AV.L said it would pull out completely from
Indonesia by selling its entire stake in joint venture PT Astra Aviva Life to
its partner in the operation. * ASTRAZENECA: AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L said its combination treatment for a
form of bladder cancer failed to meet the main goal of improving overall
survival in patients in a late-stage study. * AMIGO: Britain's troubled Amigo Holdings AMGO.L said it has appointed a
consultant, Glen Crawford, to assist it with a strategic review and formal sale
process, as the home loan provider looks to end a period of turmoil.
* CINEWORLD: British cinema operator Cineworld CINE.L said it has not
observed any significant impact of the coronavirus outbreak on its movie theatre
admissions, and it continued to see good traffic in all its markets.
* VIRGIN MEDIA: Virgin Media, owned by Liberty Global LBTYA.O , on Thursday
reported a breach that allowed unauthorised access to the cable company's
database that contained personal information of about 900,000 customers.
* BREXIT: Britain's government has spent at least 4.4 billion pounds ($5.6
billion) of taxpayers' money on preparations to leave the European Union, the
public spending watchdog said, in the first detailed estimate of the cost of
Brexit. * COVID-19: Health authorities in Ireland reported the first community
transmission of coronavirus not associated with travel from an affected area of
Italy on Thursday as the number of cases rose to 13 from six a day earlier.
* UK EMPLOYERS: British employers' demand for staff accelerated in February,
with a job vacancy index seeing the biggest monthly jump in more than six years,
a survey of recruiters showed. * OIL: Oil slid nearly 1% as worries about global oil demand and economic
growth slowdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak were heightened by concern
over non-OPEC crude producers not yet having agreed to cut output further to
support prices. * GOLD: Gold prices held steady but were on track to post their biggest
weekly gain since February 2016 over fears that the global coronavirus outbreak
could deal a hard blow to the world economy. * The UK blue-chip index .FTSE closed down 1.6% on Thursday with investors
spooked by concerns over global economic growth as more businesses were bruised
by the coronavirus outbreak. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
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