City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 12 points from Friday's close of 5,807, hit by the news that Wall Street will be shut ahead of 'superstorm' hurricane Sandy, which is expected to hit Wall Street in the next few hours.

With stock markets, derivative exchanges and the larger of the US banks also set to remain closed today, global trading volumes are expected to be notably lower, with Asian markets already experiencing a drop overnight.

Meanwhile, UK economic announcements due out this morning include mortgage approvals and data on net lending to individuals, both of which are expected at 09:30.

In company news, Serco Group, the international service company, has signed a contract for an outsourcing partnership that will provide customer contact and support services for AEGON, the Dutch life and pensions company. The contract starts on November 1st and marks Serco's entry into this segment of the financial services market. The contract is worth an estimated £170m over an initial 10-year term.

Pearson has confirmed publishing firm Random House is to merge with its venerable book seller Penguin. Under the terms of the agreement, Penguin and Random House will combine their businesses in a newly-created joint venture named Penguin Random House. Bertelsmann, will own 53% of the joint venture and Pearson will own 47%. Marjorie Scardino, Chief Executive of Pearson, said the combination would "greatly enhance" Penguin's fortunes and its opportunities.

Anglo American's Platinum unit, known as Amplats, has come to an agreement with trade unions in South Africa and hopes to see its 12,000 dismissed employees return to work by tomorrow, Tuesday October 30th. Industrial action has been going on for the past six weeks since the initial safety suspension of Amplats' Rustenburg, Union and Amandelbult mining operations. The company last week met with unions NUM, NUMSA and UASA to discuss how to facilitate the return to work of the 12,000 workers.

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