UK Stocks -- Factors to watch on March 2

LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening
70-78 points lower on Monday, according to financial bookmakers extending
Friday's falls in tandem with weakness from global markets, with banks staying
in focus ahead of results and a possible rights issue from HSBC (HSBA.L).

The UK blue chip index closed 85.55 points lower on Friday at 3,830.09.
Britain's benchmark index lost 7.7 percent in February and has lost 13.6 percent
so far in 2009 after tumbling 31 percent last year.

U.S. and Asian markets tumbled on heightened fears about the global
financial sector after the U.S. government moved to effectively put troubled
bank Citigroup (C.N) under its control and with further bail-out moves for
insurer AIG (AIG.N). [nSP479005]

House prices in England and Wales fell by 0.8 percent in February to stand
10.0 percent lower than a year ago, the biggest annual fall since property data
company Hometrack started its monthly survey in 2000.

Hometrack's survey, which is based on estate agents' and surveyors'
estimates of selling prices, has persistently shown lower price falls than data
from mortgage lenders such as Nationwide, which reported a 17.6 percent annual
February fall. [ID:nLR70894]

Official UK interest rates will need to rise before any economic recovery is
felt on the ground to stave off the risks of an inflationary surge, former Bank
of England Deputy Governor John Gieve said.

"We've got to hold on to the fact that inflation will be kept low," Gieve
said in an interview with the Sunday Times. [nL1704216]

* Bank fear sends S&P to worst-ever start to a year [ID:nN27465819]

* Nikkei down 4.2 pct on US econ worries, banks hit hard [ID:nT255564]

* Dollar up on safety buying after AIG rescue news [ID:nT254447]

* Oil falls 2 pct to below $44 on economic worries [ID:nSYD461382]

* Gold up 1 pct as safe-haven buying resumes [ID:nT255968]

UK stocks to watch on Monday are:

HSBC (HSBA.L)

HSBC will launch a rights issue to raise up to $18 billion to shore up a
balance sheet showing strain from a sharp rise in bad debt in the United States
when in unveils full-results on Monday, people familiar with the matter said.
[nHKG49918]

Also, HSBC plans to curtail its foray into U.S. consumer lending by pulling
back from key businesses, according to people familiar with the matter, the Wall
Street Journal said on Monday.

ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND (RBS.L)

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ.AX) (ANZ) has hired Credit
Suisse (CSGN.VX) to advise it on a bid for RBS's Asian units, a source with
direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Sunday. [nL1565009]

LLOYDS BANKING GROUP (LLOY.L)

Lloyds Banking Group is battling to keep the government shareholding in the
bank at less than 50 per cent, despite asking ministers for additional funds to
shore up balance sheets, the Guardian said on Monday.

BARCLAYS (BARC.L)

Barclays' head of Asia-Pacific investment banking has left the bank, sources
familiar with the matter said on Monday, with no replacement named in his
absence. Darcy Lai, who joined Barclays in 2001, was also in charge of debt
capital markets.[nHKG256322]

RIO TINTO (RIO.L)

China's state-backed Chinalco will meet Foreign Investment Review Board
(FIRB) officials on Monday to discuss its $19.5 billion investment deal with Rio
Tinto. [nAp61717a]

ANGLO AMERICAN (AAL.L)

Anglo American is cutting more than 10 percent of its workforce at coal
mines in Australia to reduce costs by one-fifth this year, its Anglo Coal
Australia unit said on Monday. [nSYD372972]

BP (BP.L)

BP is considering the appointment of another group of head-hunters to work
with regular head-hunter Anna Mann in its search for a new chairman to replce
Peter Sutherland who had been expected to use the company's April annual meeting
to step down but will instead use the meeting to seek reappointment for another
year, the Financial Times said on Monday.

OLD MUTUAL (OML.L)

London-listed insurer Old Mutual is looking to sell its 53 percent stake in
South Africa's Nedbank (NEDJ.J), according to a report in the Observer on
Sunday.[nL1597284]

ASTRAZENECA (AZN.L)
The drugmaker failed to warn physicians and patients about risks associated
with its widely used schizophrenia drug Seroquel, plaintiffs' attorneys said.
[ID:nN27363879]

BT GROUP (BT.L)

Channel 4 chairman, Luke Johnson, is reported to have said that a tie-up
between the broadcaster and BT's television subsidiary, BT Vision, is worth
exploring, after holding preliminary talks with the group, The Indepepdent said
on Monday.

Also, media regulator Ofcom will this week propose a new set of rules which
will include a change in the way that BT's networks business, Openreach,
operates, allowing BT to begin offering broadband speeds up to 20 times faster
than the current average, The Observer said on Sunday.

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE (LSE.L)

The London Stock Exchange is said to be taking steps to head off the drift
of companies away from the Alternative Investment Market, with the number of
firms quoted on AIM falling from around 1,700 in December 2007 to 1,524 today,
The Times said on Monday.

ICAP (IAP.L)

ICAP chairman Michael Spencer has had to inject 70 million pounds of his
personal fortune into spread beting firm City Index, owned by Spncer's private
equity vehicle IPGL Limited, following the default of traders on tens of million
of pounds' worth of trades, the Daily Telegraph said on Monday.

ITV (ITV.L)

Britain's biggest commercial broadcaster, is to announce up to 500 job cuts
and scrap its dividend, according to a report in the Sunday Times, when it
reports its full-year results on Wednesday. [nL1593350]

SAFESTORE (SAFE.L)

Safestore has ecome the first British company to include a clause in its
directors' contracts forcing them to pay back bonuses earned for profits which
prove to be false, the Sunday Telegraph said.

DSG INTERNATIONAL (DSG.L)

DSG International will this week unveil plans for a chain of Currys
Megastores as it looks to see off the challenge of American electricals retailer
Best Buy, which is set to debut in the UK this year, The Observer said on
Sunday.

RETAILERS

Mosaic Fashions, the owner of Karen Millen and Principles, will be broken up
and placed into administration on Monday, according to a report in the Sunday
Times. [nL1607643]

PREMIER FOODS (PFD.L)

Britain's biggest food maker, is expected to raise 400 million pounds
($567.8 million) this week through a rights issue and share placing to reduce
its debt pile, said a report in the Sunday Times. [nL1613461]

The food producer will unveil full-year results.

AMLIN (AML.L)

The insurance underwriter will report full-year results.

PEARSON (PSON.L)

The media firm will release full-year results.

WHITBREAD (WTB.L)

The hotels and leisure group will issue a trading update.

XCHANGING (XCH.L)

The outsourcing group will post full-year results.

WSP Group (WSPG.L)

The contracting firm will report full year results.

SENIOR (SNR.L)

The engineer will release full year results.

ULTRA ELECTRONICS (ULE.L)

The defence and aerospace group will post full-year results.

KELLER GROUP (KLR.L)

The contracting group will report full-year results.

RAYMARINE (RAY.L)

The marine electrionics firm will unveil full-year results.

VITEC GROUP (VTC.L)

The media products group will release full-year results.

ANT (ANTP.L)

The digital TV software firm will issue full-year results.

DIALIGHT (RXO.L)

The LED technology firm will report full-year results.

TODAY'S UK PAPERS

> Financial Times [PRESS/FT]

> Other business headlines [PRESS/GB]

(Reporting by Jon Hopkins)