(Updates futures, adds company news items)
Dec 21 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index .FTSE is seen opening lower 31 to 39 points, or 0.6 percent, on Monday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures FFIc1 down 0.22 percent ahead of the cash market open. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N14A0EI
* The UK blue chip index fell 0.8 percent to close at 6,052.42 on Friday, as investors showed renewed caution in the wake of the euphoria that followed the U.S. Fed's interest rate hike. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1473HS
* SHELL: Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L , which is in the process of taking over BG Group BG.L , expects shareholder meetings to approve BG deal to take place on Jan. 27 and Jan. 28, the companies said on Monday. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nRSU6819Ja
* HAMMERSON: The British property firm HMSO.L said it had exchanged contracts for the sale of two assets for a total of 87 million pounds. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nRSU6372Ja
* NETPLAY: The company NPT.L confirmed that it had held discussions with the board of Sportech ROD.L regarding a potential acquisition of The Football Pools business. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nRSU6839Ja
* BHP BILLITON: Brazil's Vale SA VALE5.SA said on Sunday it will appeal a court decision to freeze some of it and BHP Billiton's BHP.AX BLT.L Brazilian assets, saying the ruling, which declared the two mining companies responsible for a dam burst last month, was "inappropriate." urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1490N9
* HSBC: HSBC Holdings Plc HSBA.L has appointed Rothschild for restructuring of private banking arm, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the process. (on.ft.com/1MpMavk)
* ROLLS-ROYCE: Rolls-Royce RR.L Chief Executive Warren East said he feels "disquiet" about trading conditions in the unit that supplies power systems for the mining and offshore oil industries, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. (on.ft.com/1MpTiI7)
* ASTRAZENECA: Moody's on Friday downgraded AstraZeneca to A3 following its planned acquisitions of Acerta Pharma, ZS Pharma and Takeda Pharmaceutical respiratory assets. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nMDY5RJjKM
* SABMILLER: China Resources Beer 0291.HK has chosen banks to advise on options for its Chinese brewery joint venture with SABMiller Plc SAB.L , Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. SABMiller is being bought over by Anheuser-Busch InBev ABI.BR for about 72 billion pounds ($107.4 billion). (http://bloom.bg/1Tbw1Pu)
* BRENT CRUDE: Brent crude oil prices fell to levels last seen in 2004 on Monday, dropping below the lows hit during the 2008 financial crisis on renewed worries over a global oil glut. Brent futures LCOc1 were trading down 1.82 percent at $36.21 per barrel at 0743 GMT. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N14A1QK
* BANK OF ENGLAND: One of the Bank of England's policymakers who is considered most likely to call for higher interest rates believes the need for tighter monetary policy is "slightly less immediate" because of slow pay growth and falling oil prices, the Daily Telegraph reported on Sunday. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1490YW
* UK CORPORATE DIARY:
Betfair Group BETF.L Betfair Group PLC PLC
Court Meeting
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times
PRESS/FT
> Other business headlines
PRESS/GB Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for:
* 3000 Xtra
: visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com
* BridgeStation: view story .134 For more information on Top News visit http://topnews.reuters.com ($1 = 0.6705 pounds)