(Adds company news items, futures)
Oct 30 - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 13 points higher
at 5,594 on Friday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures down 0.823%
ahead of cash market open.
* INTERNATIONAL CONSOLIDATED AIRLINES: British Airways-owner IAG ICAG.L
said it was driving down its cost base and called on governments to adopt
pre-departure COVID-19 testing to allow travel during a second wave of
infections that has locked down Europe again. * NATWEST: British lender NatWest NWG.L reported forecast-beating third
quarter earnings, setting aside a smaller-then-expected cash pile to deal with
likely loan defaults due to the coronavirus pandemic. * ASTRAZENECA: AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L said it had agreed to sell commercial
rights for two of its heart failure and blood pressure medicines to German
pharmaceutical company Cheplapharm Arzneimittel GmbH for $400 million.
* VIVO ENERGY: Africa-focussed fuel retailer Vivo Energy VVO.L said it will
pay the previously withdrawn 2019 final dividend of 2.7 cents per share, as
volume in the third quarter improved, compared with the second, as COVID-19
restrictions began to ease. * DE LA RUE: The Bank of England said it had extended its banknote printing
contract with De La Rue DLAR.L . * GOLD: Gold prices rose as the dollar retreated, supported by worries of
soaring coronavirus cases in the United States and Europe as well as uncertainty
over the upcoming U.S. presidential election. * OIL: Oil prices tumbled, touching a five-month low and extending the
previous day's sharp decline on the impact renewed coronavirus lockdowns could
have on oil demand. * The UK blue-chip index .FTSE fell on Thursday as concerns that a
resurgence in coronavirus cases might derail a fragile economic recovery,
offsetting a clutch of positive earnings from Royal Dutch Shell and Lloyds
Bank. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
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