UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on March 30

(Adds company news items and futures)
March 30 - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 9 points lower
at 5,501 on Monday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures up 0.4%
ahead of the cash market open.
* FINABLR: Finablr FINF.L said Ernst & Young LLP has resigned as its
auditor after the company could not accommodate some of the changes requested by
it on time, which included changes to the composition of the payments group's
board. * ANGLO AMERICAN: Anglo American AAL.L said its diamond unit De Beers
Group will not hold its third sales event, due to lockdowns in Botswana, South
Africa and India in light of the fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic.
* ASTRAZENECA: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved AstraZeneca
AZN.L combo treatment for a form of lung cancer in previously untreated
patients, the drugmaker said on Monday. * ASTRAZENECA: AstraZeneca said it is concluding its late-stage trial for a
form of kidney disease early after the drug being tested showed
better-than-expected results. * KIER: British contractor Kier Group KIE.L will cut wages for about 6,500
employees, including executives and board members, by between 7.5% and 25% for
the three months beginning April, it said. * LOGANAIR: Britain's Loganair, a small regional airline, is planning to ask
the government for financial aid in the coming days, its chief executive told
BBC radio. * OIL: Crude oil benchmarks fell sharply, with Brent hitting its lowest
since November 2002, as the coronavirus pandemic worsened and the Saudi
Arabia-Russia price war showed no signs of abating. O/R
* The UK blue-chip index .FTSE closed down 5.3% on Friday as Prime
Minister Boris Johnson tested positive for coronavirus, which claimed more lives
in Britain.
ADVISORY: The Financial Conduct Authority had said on March 21 that
Britain's listed companies should not publish preliminary financial statements
for at least two weeks to better assess how the coronavirus outbreak is
affecting their business. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
LIVE/
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times PRESS/FT
> Other business headlines PRESS/GB