March 13 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening up 6 points at 7,349 on Monday, according to financial bookmakers. * HSBC: HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's biggest bank, tapped an outsider for its top job on Monday, appointing insurance veteran and AIA Group boss Mark Tucker as chairman to replace Douglas Flint, who plans to step down in 2017. * LLOYDS: Lloyds Banking Group is expected to sign a contract with IBM for 1.3 bln stg that will shift more than 1,900 jobs to the US tech firm as it outsources many of its computer systems, the Financial Times reported. * VODAFONE: Mobile operator Vodafone will create 2,100 new customer service jobs across Britain in the next two years as part of an investment drive to improve operations in its home market. * BHP BILLITON: The striking union at BHP Billiton's Escondida copper mine in Chile, the world's largest, told Reuters on Saturday that it will not accept an offer from the company to return to the negotiating table, and it called on the company to clarify some of its negotiating positions. * LLOYDS: A U.S. judge on Friday dismissed Lloyds Banking Group Plc , ICAP Europe Ltd and Tullett Prebon Plc as defendants from litigation alleging a conspiracy among many financial services companies to manipulate the yen Libor and Euroyen Tibor benchmark interest rates. * MISYS: Misys
is nearing a deal to combine with DH Corp , the Financial Times reported, citing sources. http://on.ft.com/2mZ55MB * BOVIS-GALLIFORD TRY: British homebuilder Bovis has rejected a bid approach from rival Galliford Try but remains in negotiations about a possible deal, the firm said on Sunday, adding it had also rejected a proposal from another suitor, Redrow. * OIL: Oil prices dropped to their lowest in three months on Monday despite OPEC efforts to curb crude output, dragged down as U.S. drillers kept adding rigs. * The UK blue chip index FTSE 100 ended up 0.4 percent on Friday, led by BT as investors cheered the resolution of a long-running regulatory battle over its broadband unit. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: Computacenter PLC CCC.L Full Year 2016 Mears Group MERG.L Full Year 2016 Goals Soccer GOAL.L Full Year 2016 Telit Communications TELT.L Full Year 2016 TODAY'S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines 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 (Reporting by Siju Varghese; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
