London pre-open: FTSE to inch lower in early trade

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around eight points lower than Friday's close of 6,693.44, easing off slightly as investors look ahead to Wednesday when the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve policy meeting will be released. On Friday UK stocks ended the session with broadly decent gains as investors continued to show optimism over a continuation of accommodative monetary policy from the Federal Reserve. This was largely driven by soon-to-be Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen, who said Thursday that the US economy is still performing "far short of [its] potential" and that the central bank must "do what we can to promote a strong economic recovery". In terms of companies, Vedanta was the biggest faller following a disappointing first-half report. Over the weekend, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg revealed he is trying to get the Tories to agree to a £1bn cut to income tax. He wants the personal allowance raised to £10,500 from 2015, £500 above the currently agreed threshold for the 2014/15 tax year. JP Morgan agreed a $4.5bn settlement with investors for the repayment of losses relating to a mortgage securities during the financial crisis. A Boeing 737 aircraft crash in the Russian city of Kazan yesterday, killing all of the 50 people on board. The flight was reportedly operated by a local airline. This week a number of City investment bankers will face tough questions by MPs over the valuation of Royal Mail, which saw the value of its share price rise 38% on its first day of trading. Looking to today's agenda, its a fairly busy day over in the EU with announcements of the Balance of Payments, Balance of Trade, and the EU Current Account. Today will also see the release of private sector data on the outlook for the US housing sector. In company news, Rolls-Royce, the FTSE 100-listed engineering giant, has won a $5bn order for the Trent XWB engine to power 50 Airbus A350 XWB aircraft. The order takes the total number of Etihad A350 aircraft on order to 62, all powered by the Trent XWB.Aberdeen Asset Management has agreed to buy Lloyds Banking Group's European asset business Scottish Widows Investment Partnership Group (SWIP). The company will acquire SWIP and its related private equity and infrastructure fund management businesses for £550m.FTSE 100 outsourcing group Capita said it is on track to deliver strong growth in 2013 after robust sales and acquisitions made during the period. It also announced that its Chief Executive, Paul Pindar, is to step down early next year.Insurer Aviva has announced plans to offload its entire stake in Italian insurance group Eurovita Assicurazioni in a bid to boost capital and focus on more profitable lines.NR