July 25 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen down 2 points at 7,507 on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers.
* KINGFISHER: British home improvement retailer Kingfisher KGF.L said on Wednesday its newly appointed chief executive officer, Thierry Garnier, would join the company on Sept. 25. METRO BANK: Metro Bank MTRO.L said on Wednesday it will start the process of recruiting a replacement for its founder and chairman Vernon Hill, months after an accounting error hammered its shares, left a hole in its balance sheet and spooked customers. TELECOM FINES: A government panel on Wednesday approved a combined penalty of 30.5 billion rupees ($442 million) on telecom operators Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS and Vodafone (LON:VOD) Idea VODA.NS for not providing points of interconnection to Reliance Industries' RELI.NS telecom unit Jio when it began operations in 2016, Indian media reported. COBHAM: British engineer Cobham Plc COB.L is to be acquired by U.S. private equity firm Advent International in a deal that would value it at about 4 billion pounds ($4.99 billion) including debt, the Financial Times reported, citing people close to the situation. RIO TINTO: Energy Resources Of Australia Ltd (ERA) ERA.AX said on Thursday that majority owner Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) RIO.AX had offered to help underwrite part of the cost of rehabilitating the Ranger Uranium Project in the Northern Territory. RYANAIR: Ryanair RYA.I cabin crew in Portugal are set to strike for five days in August in a dispute over pay and conditions, the SNPVAC union said on Wednesday. DIAGEO: Talks over pay between Diageo Plc DGE.L and two of its biggest Scottish unions fell apart on Wednesday, threatening the production of some the region's most popular whiskies. TBC BANK: Georgian prosecutors charged TBC Bank Group's TBCG.L chairman and his deputy on Wednesday with money laundering, a move the bankers said was absurd and damaged prospects for attracting investment to the country. METRO BANK RESULTS: Metro Bank's MTRO.L , the British lender, said on Wednesday that customers had pulled 2 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) out of the lender this year following a major accounting error in January. ROLLS ROYCE: Rolls-Royce RR.L said on Wednesday that its discussions with Indra Sistemas SA IDR.MC , which had expressed interest in acquiring a majority stake in the British group's Spanish business ITP Aero, have ended without agreement. EX-DIVS: SSE Plc SSE.L will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 2.81 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations ID:nL8N24N1MD
* The UK blue chip index closed 0.7% down at 7,501 as miners dragged the index owing to iron ore prices falling and luxury carmaker Aston Martin lsoing a quarter of its value. 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