London pre-open: Frosty start for blue chips

Yesterday's gains could be all but wiped out in early deals following losses in Asia and a lack of direction from Wall Street where traders sat out Thursday's session for Thanksgiving.The FTSE 100 could lose almost 30 points in early deals, according to futures prices.Demand for some metals will double over the next 15-20 years and Rio Tinto, already "very well positioned" to take advantage, is spending billions on expansion just to make sure. The company said in a statement ahead of today's annual investor seminar that capital spending will probably be around US$13bn in the 18 months to December 2011, including $4bn this year and about $11bn in 2011. Mined copper production for 2010 is expected to be 661,000 tonnes.Infrastructure specialist Balfour Beatty has reached agreement with the trustees of the company's pension fund to tackle the company's £375m pension fund deficit. The company and the fund's trustees have agreed a level of contributions which should see the deficit wiped out over a period of eight years, if events go as planned. The contributions will kick off with a one-off payment by Balfour Beatty of £40m, equivalent to £29m after tax, at the end of this year. Thereafter, annual deficit contributions of £48m (around £35m after tax) will be made, with effect from 1 April 2010.Africa-focused oil and gas company Afren is to raise fresh funds through the issue of senior secured notes. The interest rate, offering price and other terms will be determined at the time of pricing of the offering, subject to market conditions. Proceeds will be used to repay debts and for general corporate purposes. It said revenue in the first nine months of 2010 rose to $265.7m from $252.2m the year before. A loss of $7.6m last year turned into a $75.3m profit this time.Africa-focused oil explorer BowLeven is to raise about £70m through a placing of up to 22m new shares, some 11% of the amount currently outstanding, to fund further drilling on its prospects in Cameroon. BowLeven shares closed yesterday at a record high of 338p, valuing the group in total at just over £650m, after it revealed the Sapele-1 exploration well drilling in the Douala Basin, offshore Cameroon had struck more oil.