* RIO TINTO: U.S. cybersecurity firm Fortra said suspicious activity was identified within its GoAnywhere software nearly two months ago, a day after Rio Tinto said in a staff memo that personal data of some of its Australian employees may have been stolen.
* BARCLAYS: British bank Barclays Plc has tapped Toronto-Dominion Bank's John Erdmann as chief financial officer of its U.S. Consumer Bank and Barclays Bank Delaware.
* BARCLAYS: A former Barclays director, fired for sexual harassment and other misconduct, is suing the bank for more than 584,600 pounds ($719,412), arguing that female colleagues fabricated allegations and that his dismissal was unfair.
* CONSUMER CONFIDENCE: British consumer confidence rose this month to its highest level in a year, helped by improving sentiment around the economy and despite persistent gloom over personal finances, a survey showed.
* OIL: Oil prices extended losses on worries about a potential oversupply after U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said refilling the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve may take several years.
* GOLD: Gold prices eased in range-bound trading due to a firmer dollar, while investors digested the U.S. central bank's hints at a potential pause in its rate-hike trajectory.
* METALS: Copper slid as prices eased from last session's three-week peak, with the market still assessing wider banking sector turbulence and the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision for a price direction.
* FTSE: The export-oriented FTSE 100 closed down on Thursday as the pound gained after the Bank of England raised its main lending rate by 25 basis points.
* UK CORPORATE DIARY:
JD Wetherspoon HY Results
Smiths Group HY Results
Ceres Power FY Results
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: TODAY'S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines (Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru)
