Europe Factors-Shares set to track U.S., Asian losses

(Adds details, company news, futures; updates snapshot)

PARIS, May 18 (Reuters) - European shares were set to fall on Monday,
tracking losses on Wall Street and in Asia, with mining shares poised to feel
the pinch of lower metal prices.

By 0628 GMT, futures for the DJ Euro Stoxx STXEc1, for Germany's DAX
FDXc1 and for France's CAC FCEc1 were down 1.3 percent and 1.4 percent,
while financial spreadbetters expected Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE to open 31 to
36 points lower, or as much as 0.8 percent.

Asian stocks dropped on Monday as worries about slumping company profits and
the still-uncertain outlook for the global economy prompted a retreat from
recent highs, keeping the safe-haven yen broadly higher.

Japan's Panasonic (6752.T) dropped 7.6 percent after it forecast a
bigger-than-expected annual loss following a record quarter of red ink, battered
by weak demand, price falls and restructuring costs. [ID:nT317165]
The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares is up 30 percent
since reaching a floor in early March. The index's sharp two-month rally took a
breather last week as weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales data prompted
investors to book profits.

"Friday's slump on Wall Street is setting the agenda for equity markets with
Asian stocks coming under pressure as the new week gets underway and Europe is
set to follow suite too," Matt Buckland, dealer at CMC Markets, wrote in a note.

"There seems to be something of a consolidation issue in play right now -
traders are happy to accept that the economic outlook is getting 'less bad', but
there's now a hunt on for actual signs of improvements and the mixed earnings
season that's now drawing to a close across the Atlantic is perhaps underlining
this situation."

----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0618 GMT----------------------

LAST PCT CHG NET CHG

S&P 500 .SPX 882.88 -1.14 % -10.19

NIKKEI .N225 9,038.69 -2.44 % -226.33

MSCI ASIA EX-JP .MIASJ0000PUS 363.81 1.48 % 5.29

EUR/USD EUR= 1.3462 -0.15 % -0.0020

USD/JPY JPY= 94.93 -0.06 % -0.0600

10-YR US TSY YLD US10YT=RR 3.114 -- -0.02

10-YR BUND YLD EU10YT=RR 3.349 -- -0.02

SPOT GOLD XAU= $931.75 0.11 % $1.05

US CRUDE CLc1 $56.75 0.73 % 0.41

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

* Wall St sags on oil; S&P ends worst week in 2 months [ID:nLH152712]

* Nikkei sheds 2.4 pct on yen, flu-related shares up [ID:nT174777]

* Asia shares falter on profit outlook, yen up [ID:nSP466661]

* Oil steadies above $56, eyes economic data [ID:nSYD478805]

* Dollar, yen gain as investors close riskier bets [ID:nT168018]

* Gold stays near 6-week high, ETF holdings steady [ID:nSP122152]

* Copper down 3 pct on oversupply worry, equity lull [ID:nSHA52325]

COMAPNY NEWS:

LLOYDS (LLOY.L)

Victor Blank is to step down as chairman of Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) in
the next year, following intense criticism of his part-nationalised British
bank's purchase of troubled rival HBOS. For details, see: [ID:nLH227272]

ACS (ACS.MC), IBERDROLA (IBE.MC)

Spanish construction-to-energy firm ACS is seeking 2 billion euros ($2.71
billion) in financing to buy an additional 8 percent of utility Iberdrola in the
second half of 2009, raising its stake to 20 percent, ABC reported, without
naming sources.

VOLKSWAGEN (VOWG.DE), PORSCHE (PSHG_p.DE)

VW halted tie-up talks with Porsche, saying its smaller peer and major
shareholder was not ready for a merger. For details, see:[ID:nLH33542]

RIO TINTO (RIO.L), MINING STOCKS

Roughly half of China's iron ore mines may have shut down since prices
dropped, opening the door for other low-cost producers to supply China with the
key mineral for making building materials, an executive at global miner Rio
Tinto (RIO.L)(RIO.AX) said on Monday. For details, see: [ID:nHKG256795]

EDF (EDF.PA)

French utility EDF has appointed Deutsche Bank to help it prepare for a
possible sale of its British power grid as part of plans to reduce debt, the
Sunday Times reported, without citing sources. For details, see:[ID:nLLH701096]

UBS (UBSN.VX)

Switzerland's largest bank has hiked the salaries of some investment bankers
to stave off poaching by competitors after losing key staff, particularly in the
United States, weekend press reported. For relatd news click on [ID:nLH666776]

COLONIAL (COL.MC)

Spanish property firm Colonial (COL.MC) said on Friday that it swung to a
1.4 million euros net profit in the first quarter from a 272.4 million loss a
year ago. For a full story, please click on [ID:nLF971840]

METRO (MEOG.DE), ARCANDOR (AROG.DE)

Metro is a potential partner for Arcandor's department store arm Karstadt,
sources told Reuters, but a deal could force the break-up of Arcandor.
[ID:nLH3690]

The world's biggest mail order group, Germany's Otto, might be interested in
parts of Arcandor, the head of Otto told German magazine WirtschaftsWoche.
[ID:nL0691652]

SIEMENS (SIEGn.DE)

Siemens is set to come through the global downturn in better shape than some
competitors, CEO Peter Loescher told the Financial Times. "The positive side of
the crisis is that as competition intensifies, the strong will become stronger
while the weak will further weaken," he said. For details, see:[ID:nLH129227]

FIAT (FIA.MI)

Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said the car maker's plan for the Opel
European operations of GM (GM.N) would be presented on May 20, the deadline set
by Germany for offers. For details, see:[ID:nLN15284561]

ITALCEMENTI (ITAI.MI), CIMENTS FRANCAIS (CMFP.PA)

France's securities regulator has given the green light for cement maker
Italcementi to buy out minority holders of Paris-listed Ciments Francais
(CMFP.PA). For details, see:[ID:nLF932601]

UNICREDIT (CRDI.MI)

The head of UniCredit's Bank Austria, the country's biggest bank and
Unicredit's holding company for most of its emerging European assets, will step
down in October, Austrian media reported on Sunday. [ID:nLH71304]. UniCredit
declined to comment on Sunday.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by David Cowell)