(Adds company news item, updates items and futures)
Dec 20 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening down about 0.2 percent on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures FFIc1 down 0.04 percent ahead of the cash market open.
* The UK blue chip index closed up 0.1 percent at 7,017.16 points after a choppy session on Monday, led higher by a rise among more defensive stocks, including pharma firms such as Hikma HIK.L and Mediclinic MDCM.L , as well as Reckitt Benckiser RB.L and Unilever ULVR.L as investors took profits in banking stocks .FTNMX8350 . LLOYDS BANKING GROUP: Lloyds Banking Group LLOY.L said on Tuesday it had agreed a 1.9 billion pounds ($2.35 billion) cash deal to buy UK consumer credit card business MBNA from Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) BAC.N . VEDANTA: Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), owned by Vedanta Resources VED.L , has been ordered by a London court to pay the Zambian government more than $100 million for a claim related to the copper price, a state-owned company involved in the dispute said. LSE/DEUTSCHE BOERSE: Euronext ENX.PA is in exclusive talks to buy LCH Group's French-regulated operating subsidiary LCH.Clearnet SA, Deutsche Boerse DB1Gn.DE said on Tuesday, a deal that may help pave the way to a combination of the Frankfurt and London Stock Exchanges. FLYBE: British regional airline Flybe Group Plc FLYB.L named Christine Ourmieres-Widener, former head of rival CityJet, as its chief executive officer, nearly two months after the surprise departure of industry veteran Saad Hammad. BHP BILLITON: The largest union at BHP Billiton-owned BLT.L BHP.AX Escondida, the world's biggest copper mine, said on Monday it had sent the company its proposal for a new collective contract, effectively beginning formal wage negotiations. SKY/TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY FOX: Rupert Murdoch said on Monday he had never asked a British prime minister for anything, seeking to play down his influence ahead of what is likely to be a politically charged approval process for his $14.6 billion bid for pay-TV group Sky SKYB.L. GSK: Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline GSK.L is bolstering scientific expertise on its board by establishing a new science committee, charged with overseeing research, as a new chief executive prepares to take over. WPP: WPP WPP.L , the world's largest advertising agency, said on Monday that three of its subsidiaries had received subpoenas from the U.S. Department of Justice as part of an investigation into video production practices in the advertising industry. BREXIT: A British hedge fund group laid out its wishlist for Brexit negotiations, with continued access to European Union investors and workers among its goals to limit the damage a UK exit from the bloc could have on the industry. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
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
* For Top News : http://topnews.reuters.com