Ophir and Salamander reveal details of potential share-exchange deal

London open

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open 13 points higher than Thursday's close of 6,678.9.

Stocks to watch

Oil and gas group Ophir Energy has confirmed details of its possible takeover offer for UK-listed peer Salamander Energy, valuing the company at around £300m. In a joint announcement, the parties announced the proposed terms of the share-exchange deal, which comes at a 44.5% premium to Salamander's share price prior to its initial statement in October confirming the talks. Based on Ophir's share price of 202.7p on 24 October, the offer of 0.5719 Ophir shares for each Salamander share represents a value for the latter of 115.9p per share.

Transport and energy company Stobart Group has sealed a deal to build a £110m combined heat and power (CHP) biomass plant at its site in Widnes in north-west England as well as a 16-year index-linked fuel supply agreement. Stobart Infrastructure is investing £7.5m for a 40% interest in the CHP plant's holding company, Mersey Bioenergy. The Green Investment Bank will provide 49% of the equity and Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor A/S, the project's engineering, procurement and construction contractor, will take an 11% stake.

In the Press

Chancellor George Osborne has backed down on his legal challenge to the EU cap on bankers' bonuses, The Telegraph says. The decision comes after a legal adviser to European court judges said that pegging bonuses to banker salaries was "valid". Osborne said he would not "spend taxpayers' money on a legal challenge now unlikely to succeed".

UKIP took a second seat in Parliament from the Conservatives on Friday after Mark Reckless won the Rochester & Strood by-election, writes the Financial Times. The win for the MP, who used to be part of the Conservative party, defected in September, is "deeply embarrassing for David Cameron, who pledged to throw everything behind beating Mr Reckless", the paper said.

The Guardian has said that almost 1,000 people have been killed in Ukraine since the ceasefire began in September. According to figures released by the United Nations, 957 people have died from 5 September, when the deal was agreed, until 18 November, at an average of 13 a day. “Civilians, including women, children, minorities and a range of vulnerable individuals and groups continue to suffer the consequences of the political stalemate in Ukraine,” the UN high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein, said.

US close

US stocks advanced on Thursday, as concerns over weaker growth overseas were overshadowed by data showing improvements in the US economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 33.27 points up at 17,719.00, while the S&P 500 rose 4.03 points to 2,052.75 and the Nasdaq ended the session 19.43 points up at 4,242.09.

US consumer prices were flat month-on-month and rose by 1.7% year-on-year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The consensus estimate had been for the consumer price index to slip by 0.1% over the month and rise by 1.6% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits remained below the 300,000 threshold for the 10th straight week, as the US economy continues to strengthen.

US sales of existing homes rose unexpectedly in October, increasing 1.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.26m, the highest level since September 2013.