Sept 6 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is expected to openlower on Friday, with futures trading down 0.2% at 7253.
* CONNECT: The British newspaper distributor said its Smiths Newsnetwork secured a five-year contract to distribute The Daily Telegraph andSunday Telegraph, with annual revenue of more than 100 million pounds.
* BERKELEY: Housebuilder Berkeley Group Plc said market conditionsin London and the South East of England were robust, and pricing stable, in thefirst four months of its financial year against the backdrop of Brexit jitters.
* GREENE KING: Greene King Plc said comparable sales at its pubsgrew 1.5% over the last seven weeks, as the company prepares for a proposed 4.6billion pound ($5.68 billion) takeover by Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-Shing.
* ASHMORE: Emerging market fund manager Ashmore posted a 10% risein core profit for its financial year ending June 2019, helped by both inflowsand positive market performance, though the results were slightly below aconsensus forecast.
* SHELL, BP: Think-tank Carbon Tracker said in a report that investmentplans by Royal Dutch Shell, BP and ExxonMobil, amongothers, will not be compatible with the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aims tolimit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
* SHELL: Exxon Mobil has agreed to sell its Norwegian oil and gasassets, which comprises minority stakes in more than 20 fields, operated bylocal producer Equinor and Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell,for up to $4 billion.
* BREXIT: Number of workers hired for permanent jobs through recruitmentagencies in Britain fell at the fastest pace in more than three years in Augustas the Brexit crisis deepened, a survey showed.
* BREXIT: If Britain quits the European Union without a deal next month,some checks may need to take place near Ireland's border with British-runNorthern Ireland, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Thursday.
* GOLD: Gold prices remained under pressure on Friday, following a 2% dropin the previous session, as robust U.S. data encouraged a return to riskierassets and hit demand for safe-haven bullion.
* OIL: Oil prices edged higher, with crude benchmarks poised for multi-weekgains amid a sharp drawdown in U.S. crude inventories, while trade tensionseased after Washington and Beijing agreed to hold high-level talks next month.
* London's FTSE 100 slipped 0.6% on Thursday as a surge in sterling pushedexporter stocks lower, missing out on a global rally led by growing hopes of aresolution to the U.S.-China trade dispute.
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:[\LIVE]
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times
> Other business headlines(Reporting by Shanima A in Bengaluru)
