Market overview: Tribune Publishing soars on bid from Gannett

1324: Tribune Publishing up 62% on news of $815m bid from Gannett.

1216: The pound is continuing to gain altitude on follow-through from Obama's remarks last Friday. It is now up by 0.49% to 1.4473.

1104: Confederation of British Industry's total orders index for manufacturing improved from -14 in March to -11 in April (consensus: -15).

0958: Citi revises target price on StanChart from 465p to 570p.

0900: The IFO institute's German business confidence index for April dipped from 106.7 in March to 106.6 for April (consensus: 107.0). A gauge of expectations improved from 100.0 to 100.4 (consensus: 100.8).

0859: In a preview of Vodafone's upcoming results on 17 May UBS analysts say: "We believe VOD is relatively under-owned by long-only funds and reassuring results should drive continued outperformance." Citi chimes-in reaffirming its buy recommendation and 260p target.

0853: Pantheon Macroeconomics is forecasting UK Q1 GDP to print at 0.3% quarter-on-quarter, fears over the Brexit referendum mean June Fed rate hike is off the table, the research house adds.

0851: Stocks have started the week on a down note, as shares of miners and StanChart sag, with traders exhibiting caution ahead of this week's Fed and BoJ policy meetings. The latter in particular - and markets' reaction above all else - will be worth monitoring. On the upside it's all about Ashtead, on the back of positive comments out of analysts at BofA-Merrill. Another US-centric issue, Wolseley, is among the top eary advisers. Homebuilders are also wanted, possibly on lessened pessimism regarding the prospects for a negative Brexit vote. FTSE 100 down 33.55 points to 6,276.89.