(Adds company news items and futures)

Sept 8 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening 9 points lower at 7,396.98 on Friday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures down 0.13 percent ahead of the cash market open.

* GREENE KING: Pub operator Greene King expects weaker consumer confidence to persist in the near term, it said as it reported a dip in sales at its pubs.

* TRINITY MIRROR: Trinity Mirror, the publisher of the Daily Mirror, said on Friday it was in talks to buy Richard Desmond's Northern & Shell titles, including the Daily Express and the Star tabloid.

* UK ECONOMY: Britain's economy is "treading water" ahead of Brexit, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said on Friday after it downgraded forecasts for growth over the next two years.

* UK RETAIL: Spending in British shops increased last month at the fastest pace in nearly two years, a survey showed on Friday, as a weaker pound led to more Britons opting to holiday at home and to an influx of tourists from abroad.

* UK EMPLOYMENT: A fall in people coming to Britain from other European Union countries has aggravated a shortage of workers and forced employers to raise starting salaries at the fastest pace in nearly two years during August, a survey showed on Friday.

* The UK blue chip index closed up 0.6 percent at 7396.98 points on Thursday with most sectors in positive territory with the exception of financial stocks, which suffered, alongside the rest of their European peers, after the European central bank reaffirmed its ultra-easy policy stance.

* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets

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 Esha Vaish in Bengaluru)