(Adds company news items and updated futures)
Oct 16 (Reuters) - Britain's futures were down 0.30% ahead of cash markets
open.
*SECURE TRUST BANK: Secure Trust Bank Plc STBS.L said on Wednesday demand
for loans had slowed in September as consumers and businesses were more cautious
ahead of the planned Oct. 31 deadline for Brexit. *LF WOODFORD INCOME FOCUS FUND: The administrator of the LF Woodford Income
Focus Fund said it would make a decision on its future on Wednesday, a day after
embattled investor Neil Woodford resigned as its manager and called time on his
30-year career in funds. BARRATT DEVELOPMENTS: Barratt Developments Plc BDEV.L , Britain's biggest
housebuilder, on Wednesday said sales fell in the beginning of the year even as
it delivered more homes, as a focus on better quality in a tough market dented
margins. *ASOS: The British online fashion retailer ASOS.L reported a 68% slump in
full year profit, hurt by problems in ramping-up warehouses in the United States
and Germany. *NATIONAL EXPRESS: The British transport firm NEX.L said on Wednesday it
won a 15-year bus contract in Casablanca through its unit ALSA, which is
expected to fetch more than 1 billion euros ($1.11 billion) in revenue over its
term. *GOLD: Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday after shedding nearly 1% in the
previous session, as it remained unclear if Britain could avoid postponing its
departure from the EU beyond Oct. 31. *OIL: Oil prices rose on Wednesday, tracking gains in equities, as investors
pinned hopes on a potential Brexit deal between Britain and the European Union
and on signals from OPEC and its allies that further supply curbs could be
possible. * The FTSE 250 .FTMC of UK mid-cap stocks closed up 1.3% after Bloomberg
said British and EU negotiators were closing in on a draft Brexit deal.
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
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