LONDON (Reuters UK) - The FTSE 100 index is seen opening steady on Monday, according to financial bookmakers, as news that U.S. lawmakers were prepared to vote on a $700 billion (384 billion pounds) package to purge toxic debt countered the expected move by the government to nationalise Bradford & Bingley.
Banks would remain in focus with the government set to nationalise troubled mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley (BB) and after Spanish bank Santander (SAN) agreed to buy its retail deposits and branch network.
In Europe, Benelux financial group Fortis (FOR) underwent a shotgun nationalisation on Sunday after emergency talks with Europe Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet to prevent U.S.-style financial contagion engulfing one of Europe's top 20 banks.
Germany's Hypo Real Estate (HRXG) struck a last-minute deal with a consortium of banks for credit to resolve a refinancing squeeze it faced.
Asia stocks fell overnight, with Tokyo's Nikkei average down 0.7 percent.
The UK benchmark closed down 2.1 percent on Friday. Adding to the gloom, house prices fell for a 12th-month running in September to stand 6.2 percent lower than they were a year ago, a survey by property consultants Hometrack showed.
Stocks to watch on Monday are:
BRADFORD & BINGLEY (BB)
Britain is set to nationalise the troubled lender on Monday after Spain's Santander (SAN) agreed to buy its retail deposits and branch network.
BARCLAYS (BARC)
The bank plans to hire 1,500 highly skilled staff over the next few years at its newly established technology centre in Singapore, the Strait Times reported.
WPP (WPP)
WPP, the world's second-biggest advertising and marketing group, will this week announce it is quitting Britain, probably for Ireland, because of changes to the country's tax regime, Mail on Sunday newspaper said.
AVIVA (AV)
Aviva Investors, a unit of Britain's top insurer Aviva, aims to nearly double its Asian workforce and boost its funds under management by a third over the next year, a top company official said on Monday.
BT GROUP (BT)
BT said on Saturday its Asian business can maintain 50 percent organic growth in the next few years, and will likely exceed that pace as smaller acquisitions help accelerate that growth.
CLOSE BROTHERS (CBRO)
Close Brothers, the British investment bank, is to announce the departure of chief executive Colin Keogh on Monday when it reports half-year results, the Sunday Telegraph said.
COMPASS (CPG)
The caterer is due to issue its trading update.
TUI Travel (TT)
The company is due to issue its trading update.
(Reporting by Dominic Lau)
