European Factors -- Shares set to fall in global equity sell-off

 (Adds index futures, more company items; updates table)

 LONDON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - European shares were expected to open sharply
lower on Friday, adding to their steep losses in the previous session as stocks
across the world fell on intensified economic worries.

  At 0644 GMT, DJ Euro Stoxx 50 STXEc1 futures were down 1.2 percent,
German DAX futures FDXc1 down 1 percent and French CAC futures FCEc1 down
0.9 percent.

 European shares lost 2.6 percent on Thursday as investors fretted over
European Central Bank projections that showed an increase in inflation forecasts
and a cut in growth expectations compared with their last prognosis three months
ago.

 Wall Street suffered its worst decline in more than two months on Thursday,
hurt by more signs of weakness in the labour market and the growth fears, and
Asian shares were sharply lower on Friday.

 U.S. non-farm payrolls take centrestage at 1230 GMT.

 ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT AT 0644 GMT---------------------- 

                                         LAST        PCT CHG        NET CHG 

  S&P 500                  .SPX    1,236.83        -2.99 %         -38.15 

  NIKKEI                  .N225   12,212.23        -2.75 %        -345.43 

  MSCI ASIA EX-JP .MIASJ0000PUS      408.57        -2.42 %         -10.12 

  EUR/USD                  <EUR=>      1.4282         0.34 %         0.0049 

  USD/JPY                  <JPY=>      106.92         0.33 %         0.3500 

  10-YR US TSY YLD    <US10YT=RR>       3.613          --             -0.01 

  10-YR BUND YLD      <EU10YT=RR>       4.063          --              0.00 

  SPOT GOLD                <XAU=>     $795.30         0.09 %          $0.75 

  US CRUDE                 CLc1     $107.38        -0.47 %          -0.51 

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 * US STOCKS-Global growth, U.S. job fears hammer Wall Street [ID:nN04295126]

 * Nikkei hits 5-1/2 month closing low on economy worry       [ID:nL5632368]

 * GLOBAL MARKETS-Global stocks at 2-year low, euro tumbles   [ID:nSP310170]

 * Yen soars as investors dump carry trades, flee risk        [ID:nT183343]

 * TREASURIES-Yields hit 4-month lows as investors shun risk  [ID:nT170220]

 * Gold weighed by dollar and oil, but finds support          [ID:nT151691]

 * Oil steady near $108, dollar, econ fears weigh             [ID:nSP234489]

 COMPANIES

 EDF (EDF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), BRITISH ENERGY (BGY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

 EDF is moving closer to a deal to buy British Energy after talks with some
of the UK company's biggest investors have begun to bear fruit, reported the
Financial Times.

 ALITALIA (AZPIa.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), AIR FRANCE-KLM (AIRF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

 Air France-KLM could take a stake of 10 to 20 percent in a revitalised group
spun out of bankrupt Alitalia and become a majority owner of the airline within
five years, French daily La Tribune reported.

 For a full story, double click on [nL4474011].

 UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

 Swiss bank UBS, rocked by more than $44 billion in credit write-downs during
the past year, said on Thursday it hired a top Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
executive as its new global head of fixed income, currencies and commodities
trading.

 For related news, click on [UBSN.VX-RTRS-LEN]

 CLARIANT (CLN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

 Swiss speciality chemicals company Clariant has named Hariolf Kottmann as
new chief executive, effective Oct 1, 2008, replacing Jan Secher.

 For related news, click on [CLN.VX-RTRS-LEN]

 CREDIT SUISSE (CSGN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

 An indicted former Credit Suisse broker was in U.S. custody on Thursday to
face charges over deceptive sales of subprime-related auction-rate debt, the FBI
said. [CSGN.VX-RTRS-LEN]

 HMV (HMV.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)    

 HMV Group Plc, the music, DVD, computer games and books retailer, said
underlying sales had continued to grow, but at a slower rate. [HMV.L-E]

 JD WETHERSPOON (JDW.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

 British pubs group JD Wetherspoon reported an 11 percent decline in
full-year pretax profit on Friday as the smoking ban and slowdown in consumer
spending impacted sales. [JDW.L-E]

 LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE (LSE.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

 Rivals to the London Stock Exchange grabbed an unusually large share of
trading in the LSE's own stock on Thursday, highlighting the growing threat to
its trading dominance. [ID:nL4423782]

 GDF SUEZ (GSZ.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

 The company is part of Japanese-led consortium which is poised to win an
auction to buy Singapore's Temasek-owned Senoko Power, with an offer of more
than  S$3.5 billion ($2.4 billion), sources said. [ID:nSIN296167]

 The group said it was in exclusive talks to buy Dutch offshore energy assets
worth 1 billion euros [ID:nWEA8402]

 BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

 BP has restarted a coking unit at its 155,000 barrel per day Toledo, Ohio
refinery after a turnaround that lasted approximately six weeks, a source
familiar with refinery operations said on Thursday.

 DEUTSCHE BOERSE (DB1Gn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

 Direct Edge, now with about 5 percent market share of U.S. equities trading,
seeks to become an exchange by the middle of next year. It wants double-digit
market share in 12 to 18 months. Boerse's ISE owns 31.5 percent of Direct Edge.
[ID:nN04296702]

 Separately, ISE CEO Gary Katz told the German financial daily
Boersen-Zeitung he was optimistic about growth prospects.

 Related news [DB1Gn.DE-E]

 IBERDROLA (IBE.MC: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

 Iberdrola hopes to integrate Energy East from October and consolidate
earnings in Q4, Expansion reported, citing unnamed financial sources.

 Separately, the British government has approved construction of a
500-megawatt offshore wind farm in Cumbria to be built and operated by a
consortium including Iberdrola subsidiary Scottish Power [ID:nL4186344]

Financial website Hispanidad, without citing a source, says Iberdrola will
accept conditions imposed by a New York state regulator to complete its planned
purchase of Energy East EAS.N.

 BHP BILLITON (BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (BLT.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

 The miner has suspended operations at all its Australia iron ore mines
following a worker fatality, a company spokeswoman said on Friday, citing
concern for the safety of all its mine workers. [ID:nSYD348299]

 (Reporting by Sitaraman Shankar and Brian Gorman)