Legal & General Share News (LGEN)

(ShareCast News) - Stocks are expected to start the day slightly higher ahead of today´s release of the US jobs report for September.The top flight index is seen starting the session up to 22 points higher from Thursday´s close of 6,072.47, while the Shanghai Stock Exchange´s Composite Index remained closed for trading.The median estimate from analysts is for a gain of 201,000 in US non-farm payrolls in September.Overnight, the Nikkei-225 edged higher by 0.02% to reach 17,725.13 while the main Wall Street averages finished on a mixed note.Acting as a backdrop, the Institute for International Finance warned on Thursday evening that capital flows to emerging markets are set to fall to $584bn this year, below the levels seen at the height of the global financial crisis.On Thursday evening, Allianz economic adviser Mohamed El-Erian warned the US could not offset slowing emerging market growth alone and that it might drag the Eurozone back into recession.His words were echoed by European Central Bank Governor Mario Draghi in a speech delivered on Thursday night, in New York. He said the European monetary union must be completed."It is in our interest. It is also in your interest and that of everybody, everywhere."To take note of, traders will also be watching the situation in Syria. Citing Lebanese sources, Reuters reports that hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in the middle eastern country to participate in a ground offensive in support of President Bashar al-Assad's government in Damascus.China´s central bank cut the minimum down-payment required for first-time home buyers in those cities where there are no curbs on purchases to 25% from 30%.L&G in first US risk-transfer transactionLegal & General America (L&G) said it has entered an agreement with the US unit of Royal Philips to provide retirement payments under a group annuity contract to 14,000 of Philips' US retirees and other former employees. The Philips deal marks L&G´s first pension risk transfer transaction in the US. L&G said Philips would transfer $900m (£600m) of pension obligations. Benefits payouts will be split equally between L&G and The Prudential Insurance Company of America.Paragon Group has struck and agreement to acquire Five Arrows Leasing Group through its subsidiary Paragon Bank for £117m. The deal, announced Friday, is part of the bank's strategy to provide diversification of funding sources and income streams for the group which started in 2014. In the year to 31 March 2015, Five Arrows Leasing made a pre-tax profit of £10.2m and profits after tax of £8.1m and had assets of £245.1m financed by £42.9m of shareholders' funds and a £178.0m loan from its owner Rothschild & Co.