UK Stocks-Factors to watch on March 14

March 14 - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening higher on Friday, with futures FFIc1 up 0.26%.

APPLE: The UK held private talks with the U.S. to resolve concerns that UK is trying to force Apple AAPL.O to build a backdoor into Americans' encrypted data, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

DEFENCE: Britain said it would increase the amount it lends to countries to buy from British defence firms, in an effort bolster its defence industry.

SHELL: Shell SHEL.L said it had completed the sale of its Nigerian onshore subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), to Renaissance.

BP: BPBP.L is seeking to sell 50% of its solar unit Lightsource bp to a strategic partner for cash and a commitment of future investments, according to a sales document seen by Reuters.

ANGLO AMERICAN : Anglo American AAL.L has begun a consultation process in the UK and South Africa to cut jobs, to refocus its operations on copper and iron ore mining, a spokesperson said.

LLOYD'S: Lloyds' LLOY.L chief underwriting officer Rachel Turk highlighted aviation and energy as classes of concern in Lloyd’s first quarter market message and chief of markets Patrick Tiernan told Insurer TV that he has targeted increased relevance in the reinsurance space.

OIL: Oil prices rebounded partly due to diminishing prospects of a quick end to the Ukraine war.

GOLD: Gold reached an all-time high, driven by uncertainty over U.S. tariffs, trade tensions, and growing expectations of monetary policy easing by the Federal Reserve.

The UK blue-chip index .FTSE ended flat on Thursday, paring gains from Wednesday's rise sparked by positive Ukraine-Russia developments.

UK CORPORATE DIARY:

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