(Adds futures, news items)
March 24 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 38 points lower at 6,662 on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures .FFIc1 down 0.61% ahead of the cash market open.
* BLOOMSBURY: Bloomsbury BLPU.L said profit for fiscal year 2020 will be significantly above market expectations. BT: BT BT.L said it would pay 59,000 frontline workers a 1,500 pound special bonus to recognise their efforts to keep customers and the country connected during the pandemic. PENDRAGON: Pendragon PDG.L said cost cuts helped the British auto dealer report a profit for 2020, compared with a loss a year earlier. BELLWAY: Bellway BWY.L said it was experiencing strong underlying demand for new homes. IAG: IAG ICAG.L said on Tuesday it had secured a $1.76 billion credit facility from a group of banks that would be available to its coronavirus-hit airlines Aer Lingus, British Airways and Iberia. INVESTEC: Investec's Australian unit has agreed to sell its A$1.2 billion acquisition finance loan-book to corporate lender Metrics Credit Partners, sources told Reuters. BHP: BHP Group BHP.AX urged rivals to step up trading in the Australian spot gas market and back a domestic price index to help keep the government from intervening in the market. ANTOFAGASTA: Workers at Antofagasta (LON:ANTO)'s Los Pelambres copper mine in Chile have accepted a contract offer and abandoned the threat of a strike, the union said on Tuesday. ECONOMY: British inflation unexpectedly fell last month, reflecting the biggest annual drop in clothing prices since 2009 and cheaper second-hand cars, official figures showed. BANKS: The world's biggest banks cut lending to fossil fuel firms by 9% in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, a report showed. COVID-19 : Travellers from England will face 5,000 pound fines in new legislation designed to deter non-essential trips and barricade the nation against imported COVID-19 infections. GOLD: Gold prices rose as U.S. Treasury yields held close to one-week low. OIL: Oil prices steadied following the previous day's slump. The UK blue-chip index .FTSE closed 0.4% lower on Tuesday, dragged down by energy and mining stocks. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: LIVE/
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