Aug 28 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening higher on Friday, with futures (FFIc1) up 0.5%.
Amigo : Amigo Holdings (AMGO.L) reported an 83% fall in first-quarter profit and 32% drop in revenue as payment holidays granted to customers affected by the coronavirus pandemic and a halt on almost all new lending hammered its returns.
M&S: Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS) (M&S) will make the first deliveries through its new online food shopping joint venture on Tuesday, a cornerstone of its latest attempt to turn the company around and offset problems at its pandemic-hit clothing business.
Gatwick Airport: Gatwick Airport, Britain's no.2 airport, said the pandemic had pushed it to a 321 million pound loss in the first six months of 2020 on passenger numbers which collapsed 66%.
COVID-19: Britain said it will back three nationwide COVID-19 studies with 8.4 million pounds ($11 million) to fund research into understanding human immune responses to the coronavirus.
Business confidence: British business confidence has ticked up but remains far below usual levels as the economy struggles to cope with social distancing and employers are preparing to cut jobs, a survey showed.
Shell: Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) on Thursday said there were only minimal operational impact at its 318,000-barrel-per-day Deer Park, Texas facility due to Hurricane Laura.
Metals: Copper rose after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it would promote higher inflation, a move that could weaken the dollar and make greenback-priced commodities more attractive.
Oil: Oil prices fell as a massive storm raced inland past the heart of the U.S. oil industry in Louisiana and Texas without causing any widespread damage to refineries.
London stocks ended Thursday on the back foot as earnings updates from firms like Rolls-Royce (LON:RR) underlined the extent of corporate damage inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic, while Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell's speech brought few surprises.
UK corporate diary:
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