(Adds futures, news items)
March 8 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 46 points higher at 6,676 on Monday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures .FFIc1 up 0.7% ahead of the cash market open.
* PHOENIX: British life insurer Phoenix PHNX.L posted a 48% rise in 2020 operating profit to 1.2 billion pounds ($1.66 billion) it said, helped by its purchase last year of Swiss Re 's SRENH.S British business ReAssure. PEARSON: Global education group Pearson PSON.L said it would restructure the company to be able to serve consumers directly, after it posted 2020 operating profit in line with forecasts. DIRECT LINE: Direct Line DLGD.L reported a 4.5% fall in 2020 profit as weather-related costs in its home insurance line offset strong performance of its motor insurance business, which benefited from fewer claims due to COVID-19 restrictions. SENIOR: Senior Plc SNR.L warned this year would be as challenging as 2020 after the British aircraft parts supplier swung to an annual loss, hit by COVID-19-related disruptions to flight travel and Boeing (NYSE:BA)'s BA.N 737 MAX crisis. DELIVEROO: British food delivery firm Deliveroo announced plans for its London listing, disclosing it had narrowed its underlying loss in 2020 to 223.7 million pounds. TRUSTPILOT: Online review platform Trustpilot said it has received commitments from several funds to act as cornerstone investors in its upcoming initial public offering at a price that gives it an enterprise value of up to $1.4 billion. ASTRAZENECA: Indonesia's state-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma said that 1.1 million doses of vaccine produced by AstraZeneca under the global vaccine-sharing COVAX facility would arrive on Monday. ECONOMY: The United Kingdom lost market share in the United States, Germany and China during the COVID-19 pandemic due to global trade chaos, Brexit and poor productivity, according to new research published. OIL: Brent crude futures surged above $70 a barrel for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, while U.S. crude touched its highest in more than two years, following reports of attacks on Saudi Arabian facilities. ASTRAZENECA: Austrian authorities have suspended inoculations with a batch of AstraZeneca's AZN.L COVID-19 vaccine as a precaution while investigating the death of one person and the illness of another after the shots, a health agency said on Sunday. BT: BT
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