(Adds company news items and updated futures)
Oct 16 (Reuters) - Britain's futures were down 0.30% ahead of cash markets open.
*SECURE TRUST BANK: Secure Trust Bank Plc STBS.L said on Wednesday demand for loans had slowed in September as consumers and businesses were more cautious ahead of the planned Oct. 31 deadline for Brexit. WOODFORD INCOME FOCUS FUND: The administrator of the LF Woodford Income Focus Fund said it would make a decision on its future on Wednesday, a day after embattled investor Neil Woodford resigned as its manager and called time on his 30-year career in funds. DEVELOPMENTS: Barratt Developments Plc BDEV.L , Britain's biggest housebuilder, on Wednesday said sales fell in the beginning of the year even as it delivered more homes, as a focus on better quality in a tough market dented margins. The British online fashion retailer ASOS.L reported a 68% slump in full year profit, hurt by problems in ramping-up warehouses in the United States and Germany. EXPRESS: The British transport firm NEX.L said on Wednesday it won a 15-year bus contract in Casablanca through its unit ALSA, which is expected to fetch more than 1 billion euros ($1.11 billion) in revenue over its term. Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday after shedding nearly 1% in the previous session, as it remained unclear if Britain could avoid postponing its departure from the EU beyond Oct. 31. Oil prices rose on Wednesday, tracking gains in equities, as investors pinned hopes on a potential Brexit deal between Britain and the European Union and on signals from OPEC and its allies that further supply curbs could be possible. The FTSE 250 .FTMC of UK mid-cap stocks closed up 1.3% after Bloomberg said British and EU negotiators were closing in on a draft Brexit deal. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: LIVE/
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