(Adds further company news)
LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - * Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening flat to up 0.3 points, or 0.1 percent higher on Friday, according to financial bookmakers, tracking overnight falls on Wall Street and in Asia, with investors looking cautiously ahead to the U.S. jobs report for May. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on
* The UK blue chip index officially closed up 23.58 points, or 0.5 percent on Thursday at 5,320.86, having been recalculated after-hours by FTSE because of problems with data from a third-party vendor, the index provider said.
* All eyes will be on the latest U.S. jobs report, due for release at 1230 GMT, with May non-farm payrolls seen rising by 150,000 on the month, and the unemployment rate expected to hold steady at 8.1 percent in May.
* BP - BP said on Friday it will look to sell its shareholding in TNK-BP after the British oil major received unsolicited indications of interest in its stake in the Russian joint venture.
* China's official purchasing managers' index - covering the country's biggest, mainly state-backed firms - fell more than expected to 50.4 in May, the weakest reading this year and down from April's 13-month high, with output at its lowest since November 2011.
* The HSBC China manufacturing PMI, tracking smaller private sector firms, retreated to 48.4 from 49.3 in April - its seventh straight month below the 50-mark that demarcates expansion from contraction - with the employment sub-index falling to 48.1, its lowest level since March, 2009.
* Short-covering and bargain hunting lifted London copper on Friday after prices hit their lowest level so far this year in the previous session, with disappointing, but expected, Chinese manufacturing data having little effect as investors had already priced it in, traders said.
* Brent crude fell on Friday, staying below $102 per barrel and extending its May swoon, after weak manufacturing activity data from No. 2 oil user China fueled further selling ahead of a key U.S. employment report.
* XSTRATA Chief Executive Mick Davis will get a three-year deal worth almost 30 million pounds ($46 million) to stay at the helm once the miner joins forces with trader Glencore, a windfall likely to sow a shareholder storm at votes due in July.
* BT GROUP - The telecoms provider said it is to sell its French application development services business to Osiatis.
* PLUS MARKETS GROUP The firm said it has received a letter relating to a possible acquisition by Gulf Merchant Bank (GMB) of its Plus Stock Exchange (Plus-SX) unit, with the headline consideration from GMB appearing to be greater than that currently being offered by ICAP, however, Plus Markets said the terms put forward by GMB are materially less attractive to the group's shareholders and, accordingly, the board continues to recommend the proposed disposal of Plus-SX to ICAP.
* HARVEY NASH GROUP - The staffing firm said it performed ahead of budget during the first quarter ended April 30, with revenue up 18 percent and gross profit ahead 6 percent compared with the same period last year.
* NATIONWIDE ACCIDENT REPAIR - The group said it expects a revenue shortfall of approximately 10 million pounds for the current financial year due to a significant reduction in the volume of vehicle accident repair work undertaken for insurer Aviva.
* ENTERPRISE INNS - The pubs operator said it has agreed a new banking deal, with a new forward start facility of 220 million pounds to commence on the expiration of its existing facilities on December 16 2013, allowing the company to follow its strategy of bank debt reduction.
* HMV - The struggling retail group said after the London close that it had agreed to sell the Hammersmith Apollo music venue to Stage C limited for a total cash consideration of 32 million pounds, with the sale enabling HMV to extend its bank facilities, strengthen capital structure and ensure strong future for group.
* The Markit/CIPS British manufacturing PMI report for May will be released at 0828 GMT.
* Among other U.S. data, April personal income and consumption figures will also be released at 1230 GMT, followed by April U.S. construction spending and May's ISM report, both at 1400 GMT.
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times
> Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134 For more information on Top News visit topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Jon Hopkins)
Stocks post worst month in three years in May - The Guardian
MTN launches online mobile money platform - Rwanda New Times
IN a bid to strengthen its mobile money business, MTN Rwanda has launched a platform that will help subscribers to receive money from the Diaspora directly on their mobile handsets.
Albert Kinuma, the head of MTN business said that the platform dubbed MTNMMO.COM is an online facility that enables the operator’s Mobile Money customers in the country to receive international remittances directly on their mobile phones from senders living or working abroad.
“Making the connection to MTNMMO.COM to enable international remittances together with MFS Africa was a high priority for us to better serve our customers, understanding their need to use their Mobile Money accounts to receive money from abroad,” he said in a statement released on Wednesday.
Kinuma explained that the system enables a sender abroad to transfer their money from their debit card or bank transfer through the internet to an MTN subscriber’s mobile phone in Rwanda.
“We will continue to add new services to MTN Mobile Money, and grow our agent network, now standing at over 700 agents across Rwanda,” he added.
Through a partnership with MFS Africa, a South African based company, Kinuma says MTN plans to upgrade the platform by introducing additional products in the near future.
Auke Algera, the General Manager East Africa at MFS Africa believes that the service will extend the benefits of Mobile Money to the Rwandan Diaspora.
He added that; “Long travelling times and uncompetitive remittance costs are now a thing of the past,
“We established ourselves in Rwanda because we are committed to deploying a range of innovative financial products for mobile money providers in the region.”
MTN is partnering with MFS Africa and Rwanda Commercial Bank (BCR) to initiate the service.
Since its launch in 2010, MTN Mobile Money has attracted over 475,000 subscribers and has transacted over Rwf60 billion, a move that has helped many people to be financially included.
Moreover, mobile banking has created an impact in the country, a move that has made it ranked among the eight fastest growing mobile money economies in the world in the recent GSMA Mobile Money report.
Meanwhile, MTN has announced the launch of its new brand campaign codenamed “We Are Better Together” from My people, MY country, My Network.
The new brand campaign not only highlights MTN’s role in every aspect of people’s lives but it also emphasises the sense of community in the country and how life is better when people come together”, Yvonne Makolo, MTN Rwanda’s Chief Marketing Officer said
Money is flying out of Spain - International Business Times
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Spain's Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said the data was more a reflection of the troubles of the banking sector to fund itself externally than deposits flying abroad.
The capital flight data predates the nationalization of Spain's fourth biggest lender Bankia (MC:BKIA) in May when it became clear the bank could not handle losses from bad real estate investments, compounded by a recession.
Spain's center-right government has contracted independent auditors to assess the health of its financial system in an effort to restore faith in its banks.
The prospect that Spain might not be able to handle losses at its banks has hammered shares and the Euro, although both regained some stability Thursday.
Mr. De Guindos said that the future of the euro would be at stake in the next few weeks in Spain and Italy, adding that the rumors that Spain was negotiating financial assistance with the International Monetary Fund were "complete nonsense."
"The battle of the Euro is being fought right now in Spain and Italy," he said at an event in the north-eastern region of Catalonia.
He also said Germany should help correct imbalances in the euro zone created by a loose monetary policy over the last 10 yrs, and by the non-respect by Berlin of the stability and growth pact in Y 2003.
Paul A. Ebeling, Jnr.
Paul A. Ebeling, Jnr. writes and publishes The Red Roadmaster's Technical Report on the US Major Market Indices, a weekly, highly-regarded financial market letter, read by opinion makers, business leaders and organizations around the world.
Paul A. Ebeling, Jnr has studied the global financial and stock markets since 1984, following a successful business career that included investment banking, and market and business analysis. He is a specialist in equities/commodities, and an accomplished chart reader who advises technicians with regard to Major Indices Resistance/Support Levels.
How to make money on mobile, in three easy steps - CNET News
Earlier this week, I wrote about how Facebook is in danger from a new kind of social network, one that's born mobile and figures out how to make money on that mobile usage.
I figured, in response to many questions and comments, it was only fair to get a little wonky for a moment about who actually is making money on mobile, or how a site or startup might try a mix of potentially successful strategies in the future. Here are my guesses.
First, the only apps and companies making significant money on mobile right now are making most of that money off in-app purchases. The apps are free, and if you want upgrades like extra jewels, more levels, additional features and so on, you pay small amounts of money over time. Research house IHS speculates that in-app purchasing would generate $5.6 billion in revenue in 2012, up from $970 million in 2011. That number would equal fully 64 percent of app revenue.
And in-app purchases can take all kinds of forms: it doesn't just have to be buying extra jewels in Bejeweled 2 or the Mighty Eagle to get you out of your Angry Birds jam. It's a popular option in photo filter apps, fitness apps like Skimble are trying it for additional workouts, and the model works fine for subscriptions, as well.
Just buy your way out of trouble, with Mighty Eagle.
(Credit: Rovio)Amazon just started testing in-app purchasing, and while it appears that only 2 percent of Android apps offer in-app buying, that really just means it's kind of an untapped market. It's a proven winner, too: 72 percent of revenue from App Store titles on iOS come from apps with in-app purchasing.
So, that's one obvious mixer in the money-making cocktail we're creating here.
The next is retail and leads: a company gets paid because users click on coupons, take advantage of a local deal, or buy things that are aggregated on a mobile site or app. I know Groupon's current stock price would seem to indicate that local deals are a dead end, but I've never seen a busier cul-de-sac. There's still something to the idea of local offers -- maybe not local deals that feel a little off, somehow, but to the concept of letting you know what's around you when you've got your nose glued to your smartphone while you're walking.
Plus, there are in-app commerce opportunities galore. Apps like Karma, which we profiled at South by Southwest, have a simple premise: aggregate products, make it super easy and social for you to buy gifts for people, and then get paid every time you buy one of said gifts. (Why Facebook, for example, doesn't have gift-giving integrated all on its own is just beyond me.)Start imagining a fun, easy-to-use app that's social, offers in-app upgrades, and lets you buy really great curated items either as gifts or based on your interest and location...and you start feeling like you've got a winner on your hands.
Social gift-giving app Karma lets you send actual, real-life tasteful gifts to your Facebook friends.
(Credit: Karma)Then, of course, you've got the booze in the shaker: ads. Advertising is still the biggest moneymaker in mobile -- it's just had a slow takeoff. You can't blame Facebook entirely for not making any money on mobile (although they should have seen the mobile shift coming and made some alternate plans). Mobile advertising accounts for just 29 percent of mobile revenues because advertisers have been slow to jump in the pool. That means, as Mary Meeker pointed out this week at All Things D, that there is massive growth potential in mobile advertising.
Right now, advertisers are concerned that maybe mobile ad tracking isn't as detailed as Web tracking; publishers are figuring out how one ad in an app or on a mobile Web site can make up for five or 10 ads on a full-sized Web page; everyone is trying to figure out mobile CPMs and targeting that isn't too creepy and how to work with ad networks that can sometimes be more trouble than they're worth.
But as I said earlier this week, these issues will sort themselves out, especially as advertisers and publishers start to see how much money is really on the table. Maybe that money will come in smaller increments, and it will take a creative combination of money-making strategies. But it'll happen; only question is who will get the proportions right first.
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