Feb 11 (Reuters) - Britain's futures .FFIc1 up 0.02% ahead of cash market open.
* G4S (CSE:G4S): GardaWorld on Wednesday extended the buyout offer period for rival G4S GFS.L for a sixth time, prolonging a bidding war with U.S.-based Allied Universal for the British private security services firm. SSP GROUP: SSP Group SSPG.L said on Wednesday it continued to assess the merits of raising funds but stopped short of confirming a Financial Times report that it was planning a 500-million-pound cash call within weeks. HOUSE PRICES: The boom in Britain's housing market cooled sharply in January as the country went back into coronavirus lockdown and a tax break for buyers neared its expiry, a survey showed. TRADE: Just under half of British companies that export goods have run into difficulties caused by the Brexit shift in trade terms with the European Union since the start of the year, a British Chambers of Commerce survey showed. GOLD: Gold edged lower as the dollar recovered and softer U.S. inflation data dampened the bullion's appeal as a hedge against inflation. OIL: Oil prices fell, giving up some of the recent strong gains on profit-taking and speculation that the market's strength could tempt producers like Saudi Arabia to reduce output by less. The UK blue-chip index .FTSE closed 0.1% lower on Wednesday as a stronger pound pressured exporters, while homeware retailer Dunelm gained after resuming dividends and posting a higher first-half profit. UK CORPORATE DIARY:
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