Jan 10 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening 12points lower at 6,895 on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers, withfutures down 0.47 percent ahead of the cash market open.
* TESCO: Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, beat forecasts with a2.2 percent rise in like-for-like sales in Britain for the key Christmas period,saying it outperformed the market in food, clothing and generalmerchandise.
* MARKS & SPENCER: Britain's Marks & Spencer suffered anotherquarter of falling underlying sales in both clothing and food, underscoring itslong and uncertain road to recovery.
* DEBENHAMS: British department store Debenhams said it was in talkswith lenders and looking to bring new sources of funding into the business as itreported weak Christmas trading.
* RATHBONE BROTHERS: British wealth manager Rathbone Brothers saidassets in its core investment management arm fell 6.8 percent in the fourthquarter on the back of increased market volatility.
* JOHN LEWIS PARTNERSHIP: John Lewis Partnership, Britain's biggestdepartment store operator, said its sales rose 1.4 percent to 2.2 billion pounds($2.8 billion) in the seven weeks to Jan. 5 but said it still expected full-yearprofits to fall substantially.
* ROBERT WALTERS: British recruiter Robert Walters Plc said onThursday its fourth-quarter net fee income rose 13 percent, boosted by stronghiring in Asia Pacific and Europe.
* B&M: B&M European Value Retail SA said sales rose 12.1 percent inthe third quarter on robust demand in December.
* BANK OF GEORGIA: Bank of Georgia Group Plc named ArchilGachechiladze as chief executive officer, replacing Kaha Kiknavelidze who willstep down at the end of the month, the company said on Thursday.
* JUPITER FUND MANAGEMENT: Jupiter Fund Management posted 1.5billion pounds ($1.92 billion) of net outflows in the last three months of 2018,and blamed downbeat markets for most of a 5 billion-pound fall in assets undermanagement to 42.7 billion pounds.
* MITCHELLS & BUTLERS: British pub operator Mitchells & Butlers Plcon Thursday reported a 9.8 percent rise in comparable sales for the three-weekholiday season, but warned about the ongoing uncertainty aroundBrexit.
* PREMIER OIL: Britain's Premier Oil cut debt to $2.3 billion at theend of 2018, below a previous forecast of $2.4 billion, it said in a tradingupdate on Thursday.
* CARD FACTORY: Greetings card retailer Card Factory Plc warned offlat core earnings for the full year, as it struggles to cope with higher costs,lower traffic and competition from online players.
* HALFORDS GROUP: British bicycles-to-car parts retailer Halfords Group Plcwarned on Thursday that consumer confidence could remain weak into nextyear, hitting its operating profit.
* MAN GROUP: Kuwait's Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) said onWednesday it had filed a lawsuit against UK asset manager Man Group Plcand its subsidiaries.
* DEBENHAMS: A group of lenders to Debenhams Plc has hired FTIConsulting to advise on restructuring of the British department store group, SkyNews reported on Wednesday.
* EX-DIVS: BHP Group will trade without entitlement to their latestdividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 6.6 points off the FTSE 100 according toReuters calculations.
* GOLD: Gold prices held near seven-month highs on Thursday as the dollarwas pressured by rising expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will keep interestrates steady this year, while investors also waited for further news onSino-U.S. trade talks.
* OIL: Oil prices fell by 1 percent on Thursday on swelling U.S. supply,although the mood in global markets was increasingly confident amid hopes theUnited States and China may soon end trade disputes that have undermined globaleconomic growth.
* The UK blue chip index closed 0.7 percent higher at 6906.63 on Wednesday,on hopes of an end to the U.S.-Sino trade row and as a positive update fromTaylor Wimpey gave a much-needed boost to house-builders.
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
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> Other business headlinesMultimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for:* For Top News : http://topnews.reuters.com(Reporting by Karina Dsouza and Siju Varghese in Bengaluru)
