LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening up as much as 1.9 percent on Monday for a fifth straight session of gains, according to financial bookmakers, tracking a rise in Asian markets on optimism that measures by governments are starting to calm nervous markets.
Financial bookmakers expected the UK benchmark index to open up 78 to 84 points after closing up 2 percent on Friday. The FTSE 100 had gained 12.7 percent last week -- its strongest week on record though it lost 10.7 percent last month.
The Bank of England and the European Central Bank are expected to cut interest rates this week, following last week's reductions from China, India, Japan and the United States.
The Daily Telegraph quoted John Wright, the national chairman of the Federation of Small Buinsesses, as saying that anything less than a 1 percent cut in interest rates by the BoE would allow the banks to be "mealy-mouthed" and duck out of passing it on.
Three million homeowners, or more than a fifth of households, could end up in the trap of negative equity, with mortgage debts larger than the value of their property, as house prices continue to plunge, new City Estimates show, according to the Times.
In Asia, South Korea's KOSPI advanced 1.4 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 4.6 percent.
GOLD RISES 1 PCT AS OIL BOUNCES, EURO STRENGTHENS
UK stocks to watch on Monday are:
LLOYDS TSB, HBOS
Lloyds, the bank which has agreed to take over HBOS, could face competition from the founder of HBOS's Internet banking unit who is working on a rival bid, Sunday Times newspaper reported.
KINGFISHER
Kingfisher, Europe's top home improvement retailer, plans to double its Polish business over five years, saying the return of over a million migrants will help limit the impact of a global recession there.
The retailer also said it expects no growth in the British market over the next year but believes it can grab market share from distressed rivals.
HSBC
Banking conditions are stabilising but credit will remain tight for some time and there may yet be more shocks to the financial system, a top executive at HSBC told Reuters on Sunday.
BT GROUP
BT plans to make large-scale reforms to its 35 billion pounds ($56.95 billion) pension scheme following last week's shock profit warning, the Sunday Times newspaper reported.
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE
The London Stock Exchange has taken off the gloves in its battle with upstart equities trading platforms by levying a special charge on orders that do not come to the exchange directly and are instead routed through its new competitors, the Financial Times said.
RIO TINTO, BHP BILLITON
Rio Tinto sees most of its projects in a strong position to weather any economic scenario, with its new ilmenite project on track to produce in 2008, it said on Sunday.
Separately, the Sunday Times said European regulators could threaten to stop the proposed takeover of Rio by BHP Billiton because of the dominance the pair have over the world's iron ore supply.
HAMMERSON
The property group has put two of its biggest retail projects on hold as prospects of a recession rise, the Mail on Sunday newspaper reported.
BRITISH AIRWAYS
The steep fall in the British Airways share price in the past three months is threatening to undermine merger negotiations with Iberia, the Spanish flag carrier, the Financial Times reported.
BSKYB, CARPHONE WAREHOUSE
BSkyB has edged ahead of Carphone Warehouse in negotiations over the British operations of Italian telecoms company Tiscali, the Financial Times said.
TESCO
Tesco is the retailer most likely to survive the economic downturn, but many businesses face collapse because they are not adept at dealing with a decline in spending, according to accountants BDO Stoy Hayward and Verdict Research, the Daily Telegraph said.
PUBS
More than 4,000 pubs will go out of business in the next two years as beer sales fall and higher bills crush profits, according to insolvency specialists at PwC, the Financial Times said.
CENTRICA
Centrica will take delivery of the biggest cargo of liquefied natural gas ever to come to Britain when the Al Khuwair arrives from Qatar this month, the owner of British Gas said on Sunday.
CADBURY
Shares in Cadbury could rise to the mid-$50s by 2010 as the company's makeover takes hold, according to Barron's.
DAILY MAIL & GENERAL TRUST
Newspaper group Daily Mail & General Trust is considering a bid for the Independent and its Sunday sister title, part of Independent News & Media , the Observer newspaper reported.
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
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(Reporting by Dominic Lau) Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134 For more information on Top News visit http://topnews.reuters.com Keywords: MARKETS BRITAIN FACTORS
(dominic.lau@reuters.com; +44 20 7542 5440; Reuters Messaging: dominic.lau.reuters.com@reuters.net)
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