Dec 19 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening up 10 points at 7,022 on Monday, according to financial bookmakers.
* The UK blue chip index closed 0.2 percent higher on Friday at 7,011.64, building on a seven-week high hit the previous day and buoyed by a rally among oil stocks, though IT firm Micro Focus MCRO.L dropped after a rating downgrade. IAG: Talks aimed at averting a planned Christmas strike by British Airways ICAG.L cabin crews will be held on Monday, conciliation service Acas said. VIRGIN ATLANTIC: Pilots at Virgin Atlantic voted on Friday to work to rule from Dec. 23 in a dispute over sole recognition of their union, the latest round of industrial action to threaten Christmas holiday air travel. SHELL: Anglo-Dutch energy major Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L has signed an agreement with Viva Energy Australia for the sale of Shell Aviation Australia for $250 million, Shell said on Monday. BP: BP BP.L became the second Western oil major to renew a 40-year onshore concession in Abu Dhabi on Saturday after almost two years of negotiations to improve terms to help operate the United Arab Emirates' biggest oilfields. ANTOFAGASTA: Chile's Antofagasta ANTO.L said it was considering a legal challenge to a refusal by U.S. authorities to renew mineral leases in Minnesota, a rejection analysts and lawyers said could be overturned after President-elect Donald Trump takes office. VODAFONE: Mobile telecoms group Vodafone VOD.L is eyeing to manage drone traffic, meeting with European aviation safety authorities about molding its network to track and identify the unmanned aerial vehicle, the Financial Times reported. http://on.ft.com/2hKkHyo
* BARCLAYS: Barclays Plc BARC.L is looking to tell 7,000 clients to trade more with the bank or find another firm, Bloomberg reported. http://bloom.bg/2i5lSYo
* UK BANKS/TAX: Some of the biggest foreign investment and commercial banks operating in Britain paid an average tax rate of just 6 percent on the billions of dollars of profits they made in the country last year, a Reuters analysis of regulatory filings shows. UK EMPLOYMENT: Half of British employers think the country's attractiveness as a place to invest and hire will diminish over the next five years as it leaves the European Union, an annual business survey by The Confederation of British Industry and recruitment agency Pertemps Network Group showed on Monday. BREXIT/SCOTLAND: Scotland will publish proposals this week for how it can remain in the European Union's single market after Britain leaves the bloc, in order to avoid the "national disaster" of a "hard Brexit", the Scottish government said on Sunday. BREXIT: Leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage said on Sunday he wanted to be a bridge between the British government and the new U.S. administration. BREXIT: Britain may need a transitional agreement to smooth its exit from the European Union but it should not "buy back" into too many of the bloc's regulations, Britain's trade minister Liam Fox said on Sunday. BREXIT: Theresa May has got nowhere with the EU in seeking an early guarantee of post-Brexit rights for British and European expatriates, officials said on Friday after the British prime minister pushed the issue again at an EU summit. BRITAIN BIRD FLU: The H5N8 bird flu strain has been found at a turkey farm in Lincolnshire, eastern England, Britain's agriculture department said on Friday. IRAN NUCLEAR: Iran has requested a meeting of a commission overseeing the implementation of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Iranian state media reported on Saturday, in response to what Tehran calls a U.S. violation of the agreement. METALS: London copper slipped to its weakest in 3-1/2 weeks on Monday as inventories pile up ahead of year-end, while lead and zinc posted steep falls on profit-taking after strong fourth-quarter gains. OIL: Oil prices rose on Monday in anticipation of tighter crude supply going into 2017 following the decision by OPEC and other producers to cut output to prop up prices. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
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