LONDON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index
is seen opening 10 to 14 points lower on Thursday, according to
financial bookmakers, ahead of the Bank of England's interest
rate verdict.
The UK benchmark closed up 31.6 points, or 0.6 percent at
5,486.1 in the previous session.
The Bank of England is expected to leave interest rates
unchanged at 5 percent when it announces its decision at 1100
GMT. The European Central Bank will also announce its rate
verdict at 1145 GMT.
Before that investors will focus on Barclays' (BARC.L) half
year results for further clue on the health of UK banks.
Insurers may also be in the spotlight with Friends Provident
FP.L and RSA Insurance (RSA.L) reporting first-half earnings.
Overnight American International Group (AIG.N) posted its
third consecutive quarterly net loss of more than $5 billion as
it wrote down bad mortgage-related investments. [ID:nN062309]
Also, Europe's biggest insurer Allianz (ALVG.DE) abandoned
its profit targets and said new guidance was impossible given
financial market turmoil that kept its Dresdner Bank firmly in
the read in the second quarter. [ID:nL636146]
* US stocks rise on Cisco outlook, drop in oil [nN06504543]
* Asia stocks fall as growth fears swirl [nL7624427]
* Japan's Topix down 2 pct, banks and Toyota fall [nT283561]
* Dlr slips from 7-month high vs yen, ECB awaited [nT307093]
* Oil recovers from 3-month low [nSIN235159]
* Platinum off highs as supply fears fade, gold up [nSP277959]
UK stocks to watch on Thursday are:
XSTRATA (XTA.L), LONMIN (LMI.L)
Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's on Wednesday said it
may cut its rating on Xstrata after the miner unveiled a $10
billion takeover bid for the world's third-biggest platinum
producer, Lonmin. [ID:nN06473785]
Lonmin on Wednesday further cut its forecast for full-year
refined platinum sales by 6.5 percent to 725,000 ounces.
[ID:nL6486569]
ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND (RBS.L)
Tom McKillop could be just weeks away from being ousted as
the chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland following its
contentious 12 billion pounds cash call earlier this year, the
Daily Mail quoted City sources as saying.
BARCLAYS (BARC.L)
The bank is due to issue its first-half results.
HSBC (HSBA.L)
HSBC on Thursday denied a South Korean media report saying
it had agreed with U.S. private equity firm Lone Star [LS.UL] to
set a new deadline for a $6.3 billion deal for control of Korea
Exchange Bank. [ID:nSEO309826]
GLAXOSMITHKLINE (GSK.L)
The drugmaker said pooled-analysis of 54 clinical studies
showed no increased risk of heart attack with abacavir therapy.
[ID:nWNAB5471]
FRIENDS PROVIDENT FP.L
The insurer is due to issue its first-half results.
RSA INSURANCE (RSA.L)
The insurer is due to issue its first-half results.
WHITBREAD (WTB.L)
Whitbread, the leisure group, will announce on Thursday to
invest 100 million pounds developing nine new Premier Inns as it
exploits the availability of sites previously earmarked for
office and residential development, the Times said.
SMITH & NEPHEW (SN.L)
The medical device maker is due to issue its first-half
results.
INTERNATIONAL POWER (IPR.L)
The company is due to issue its first-half results.
COBHAM (COB.L)
The company is due to issue its first-half results.
HAMMERSON (HMSO.L)
The property company is due to issue its first-half results.
PARAGON (PARA.L)
Potential bidders for Paragon could complete their due
diligence as early as next week when many of the UK buy-to-let
mortgage lender's senior managers return from holiday for
further talks about a possible investment, the Financial Times
said.
COLLINS STEWART (CLST.L)
The broking and investment banking firm said on Wednesday it
had received a takeover approach from a party that it did not
identify. [ID:nL6117116]
EASYJET (EZJ.L)
The budget airline is due to issue its third-quarter trading
update and July traffic figures.
LADBROKES (LAD.L)
The bookmaker is due to issue its first-half results.
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times [PRESS/FT]
> Other business headlines [PRESS/GB]
(Reporting by Dominic Lau)
