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FTSE preview: Shares up; RBS in profit

By Reuters
Updated: 02:54 EDT, 6 August 2010

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The FTSE 100 is seen rising on Friday, recovering after falls for the last three days with eyes on RBS as the taxpayer-backed bank crept back into profit today.

Friday feeling: Shares are expected to end a losing streak.

The UK blue chip index looks set to add 25-28 points, or 0.5%, after it closed down 20.38 points, or 0.4%, at 5,365.78 on Thursday.

US stocks edged lower on Thursday as an unexpected rise in initial jobless claims and unimpressive July retail sales dimmed optimism on the economic recovery.

On the domestic economics front on Friday, investors will have UK producer prices data for July and June's UK industrial production figures, also due.

But the main focus will be on July's US non-farm pay-rolls which are forecast to have fallen by 65,000, after a 125,000 decrease in June, with the unemployment rate seen at 9.6%, up from 9.5%.

Investors will also have June's US consumer credit data to digest after the London market close.

RBS is expected to announce on Friday the sale of its payment processing business to private equity firms Advent International and Bain Capital for £2bn, said the Financial Times.

The bank's first-half results confirmed RBS scraped into the black today with profits of £9m for the first half of 2010.

The bank, which is 83% taxpayer-owned, was helped by improving bad debt losses as it moved from a £248m loss in the first quarter to a £257m profit between April and

Staff at BT have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a new three year pay-deal, said the Independent. The agreement puts an end to months of tough negotiations between the telecoms firm and its workers that had threatened to result in industrial action, the newspaper said.

3i Group has hired Rothschild and Credit Suisse to sell the two biggest companies in its German portfolio in a move to cut debt, said the Financial Times.

Bank of Ireland is understood to be the latest lender weighing up whether to offload its debt in the beleagured social housing firm on the cheap, following Barclays's move on Monday, The Daily Mail said.

Kesa rose on Thursday as speculation intensified that not only was investor Knight Vinke adding to its 3.5% stake but a cash-rich private equity firm is ready to pounce with a knock-out bid, The Daily Mail Market Report said.

There will be results today from Old Mutual, Inmarsat, Logica, Majestic Wine, Brammer, Carpathian and Stanley Gibbons.

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