March 19 - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen

opening up on Tuesday, with futures up 0.14%.

* ASTRAZENECA ( AZN ): AstraZeneca ( AZN ) said it will buy

clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Fusion Pharmaceuticals

Inc ( FUSN ) for about $2 billion in cash to boost its oncology

portfolio.

* UNILEVER ( UL ): Unilever ( UL ) plans to spin off its ice

cream unit, home to popular brands such as Magnum and Ben &

Jerry's ( UL ), into a standalone business, as it announced a new

cost-savings programme that would impact 7,500

jobs

.

* DIAGEO ( DEO ): Diageo ( DEO ) named former British senior

civil servant John Manzoni as its next

chair

, replacing Javier Ferran who is retiring in February 2025.

* NATIONAL GRID: Britain's National Grid has proposed

a 58-billion pound ($74-billion) investment programme to boost

grid networks beyond 2030 to accommodate expected growth in

electricity demand and an increase in renewable power projects.

* NATWEST ( NWG ): NatWest ( NWG ) will seek shareholder approval to

buy back up to 15% of its stock from the UK government, it said,

as part of efforts to speed up privatisation of the lender

bailed out at the height of the 2007-9 financial crisis.

* OIL: Oil prices dipped due in part to the prospect of

rising supply from Russia, slower-than-expected downstream

demand in sectors such as jet fuel, and cautious trading ahead

of the Fed's decision on U.S. interest rates.

* METALS: Most base metals fell slightly, pressured by a

stronger dollar, making greenback-priced metals more expensive

to holders of other currencies.

* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please

click on:

TODAY'S UK PAPERS

> Financial Times

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