London pre-open: Positive start to the year set to continue

14th Jan 2013 07:33

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 14 points from Friday's close of 6,122, extending its strong start to the year. This follows a broadly flat finish in the US on Friday evening, ahead of what is a big week for the banks as the fourth-quarter earnings season kicks into gear. In UK companies, drinks firms AG Barr and Britvic will have to wait until at least February to see if their merger will get the thumbs up from the regulator as the Office for Fair Trading (OFT) continues to probe the deal. The OFT is looking at whether the merger could result in a "substantial lessening of competition" in the UK drinks industry.John Nelson, the Chairman of FTSE 100 real estate investment trust Hammerson is to retire from the company this spring and will be succeeded by Sainsbury Chairman David Tyler.Waste management business Shanks Group has announced the signing of a 25-year public finance initiative contract, which is worth an estimated £750m. Under the contract, Shanks will build a residual waste treatment facility at South Kirkby, in Wakefield, which will employ a number of processes to treat and recycle waste from the district transforming it into valuable products and green energy. International economic announcements due out Monday include EU harmonised competitiveness indicators.