* VODAFONE: Vodafone VOD.L appointed interim chief executive
officer Margherita Della Valle to the role on Thursday
*STRIKES: Thousands of railway workers in Britain will go on
strike on May 13 after the RMT trade union rejected the latest
pay offer by train companies
*ECONOMY: British businesses were their most optimistic in
nearly a year in April, boosted by growing hopes about the
economy, according to a Lloyds Bank survey on Friday
* NEPTUNE ENERGY: Neptune Energy said on Thursday it had
started production from the 11th well of its Cygnus gas field in
the British North Sea in a boost to the country's domestic
production.
* BP: An activist resolution urging BP to set tougher
climate targets was rejected by shareholders on Thursday,
although it enjoyed more support than last year after the energy
company rowed back on plans to cut oil and gas output
*SHELL: Shell Pipeline Co on Thursday said it shut the
Zydeco pipeline on April 25 after a limited release of crude oil
was detected in the Intracoastal Waterway, east of the Sabine
River, during a regular air patrol.
* CAR PRODUCTION: British car production rose for a second
consecutive month, climbing 6.1% year-on-year in March
* Britain's FTSE 100 index closed lower for a fourth
straight session on Thursday, weighed down by commodity-linked
stocks although gains in banking shares following Barclays'
upbeat results limited the decline.
* UK CORPORATE DIARY:
Natwest Q1 Results
Group
Rotork Q1 Trading
Update
Computacen Q1 Trading
ter Update
Hikma April
trading
update
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: TODAY'S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines (Reporting by Sinchita Mitra in Bengaluru)
