UK Stocks-Factors to watch on March 29

March 29 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is expected to open
higher on Tuesday, after a long Easter holiday weekend, according to financial
bookmakers. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click
The UK blue chip index closed down 1.5 percent at 6,106.48 on Thursday, as
investors dumped holdings in retailer Next NXT.L and as a decline in
commodities' prices put pressure on mining companies and oil majors.

* PREMIER FOODS: Two major shareholders in Premier Foods PFD.L urged the
company on Thursday to hold talks with U.S. suitor McCormick (NYSE: MKC ) MKC.N , after the
British company formed an alliance with Japanese instant noodle maker Nissin
Foods 2897.T .
* SHELL: Royal Dutch Shell Plc RDSa.L has said it is considering the sale
of some of its North Sea assets, the Financial Times reported. (http://on.ft.com/1UVhNFg)
* BAE SYSTEMS: British defence company BAE Systems BAES.L has won a
contract worth nearly 300 million pounds ($425 million) to provide in-service
support to the Royal Air Force's fleet of fast jet training aircraft, the
Ministry of Defence said on Monday.
* SHIRE: A U.S. district court on Monday ruled in favor of Shire Plc
SHP.L , preventing Allergan (NYSE: AGN_pa ) Plc AGN.N from selling generic versions of
Lialda, an ulcerative colitis drug, in the United States until 2020.

* ASTRAZENECA: French drugmaker Sanofi SASY.PA has poached one of
AstraZeneca's AZN.L top scientists to be its new research head, in what is
another high-profile departure at the British drugmaker.
* BRITISH BANKS: British banks will find out on Tuesday if the Bank of
England wants them to start building up extra capital buffers to guard against
looser lending standards and prepare for this year's test of their crisis
resilience.
* BREXIT: The campaign for Britain to leave the EU has been backed by 250
business leaders, including the former chief executive of HSBC, the Vote Leave
group said on Saturday, hoping to counter the view that UK businesses back
staying in the bloc.
* GOLD: Gold dipped slightly on Tuesday, but held above a one-month low due
to a softer dollar and weak U.S. economic data that dented expectations of an
immediate hike in U.S. interest rates.
* COPPER: London copper opened slightly firmer on Tuesday, buoyed by a
weaker dollar and encouraging industrial profits in top metals user China.

* OIL: Oil prices fell in early Asian trade on Tuesday as concerns mounted
that a rally since January is fizzling out, while analysts forecast another rise
to record levels for U.S. crude stockpiles.
* NORTH SEA GAS: ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP ) COP.N is looking at plans to shut down one
of the North Sea's biggest gas pipeline systems, a move that could threaten to
knock out 10 percent of Britain's gas capacity, the Times reported. (http://thetim.es/1VQy4fF)