Business Report at 0930 GMT

REUTERS BUSINESS REPORT

Friday, November 14, 2008

(All times GMT)

TOP HEADLINES

LONDON - World leaders head to Washington for crisis summit

BRUSSELS - 15-nation euro zone tumbles into recession in Q3

LONDON - Stock markets worldwide follow Wall St higher

PARIS - Airbus maker EADS raises 2008 profit goal

TOP STORIES

LONDON - World leaders head to Washington to discuss ways to protect the global economy from a repeat of the worst financial crisis in 80 years. (FINANCIAL/ (TOPWRAP 3), pix, tv, graphic, expect by 1030, by Elizabeth Piper, 800 words)

BRUSSELS - Official data are expected to show the 15-nation euro zone tumbled into recession in the third quarter after Germany, Italy and Spain all contracted (EUROPE-ECONOMY (WRAPUP 2), expect by 1100, 800 words)

LONDON - Shares in Asia and Europe follow Wall Street higher as steep falls earlier this week attract bargain hunters, while intensifying concerns about the economy knock sterling to fresh 13-year lows (MARKETS-GLOBAL (WRAPUP 4), expect 0930, by Natsuko Waki, 500 words)

PARIS - Shares in European aerospace group EADS soar as it beat expectations for the third quarter and raised its 2008 profit goal, upstaging a new 341 million euro provision for delays in a top military project. (EADS/ (UPDATE 3), moved to 0839, by Tim Hepher and Matthias Blamont, 60 words)

MARKETS

LONDON - The euro falls against the dollar and the yen, brushing off an early rise in European shares as investors await data on euro zone growth that is expected to show that the region has fallen into recession (MARKETS-FOREX (UPDATE 3), moved to desk, by Naomi Tajitsu, 700 words)

LONDON - Oil weakens slightly after a burst higher the previous day made on stronger equity markets and the prospect of a possible OPEC output cut in late November (MARKETS-OIL (UPDATE 2) expect by 1000, 500 words)

LONDON - Copper rose more than 6 percent as a rebound in global equity markets helped support industrial metals and offset a stronger dollar (MARKETS-METALS (UPDATE 4), expect by 1100, by Michael Taylor, 550 words )

PARIS/SINGAPORE - Chicago corn, wheat and soybean futures are firmer, recovering from lows, on rising stocks and an earlier rally for crude oil (MARKETS-GRAINS (UPDATE 3), expect by 1200, by Naveen Thukral and Sybille de La Hamaide, 500 words)

GENEVA - Hundreds of diamonds, fine jewels and luxury watches are on offer next week in a cautious buyer's market where price levels have dropped by 20 to 30 percent, auction houses say (ART-JEWELS (PIX, NO TV), moving shortly, by Stephanie Nebehay, 600 words).

MORE ON THE FINANCIAL CRISIS

WASHINGTON - A bid by global leaders to push forward plans this weekend to erect a firewall against future financial crises like the one now threatening the world economy will quickly run into tough political realities that will limit progress (FINANCIAL/SUMMIT, moved at 0501, by Glenn Somerville, 750 words)

NEW YORK - If markets are to regain a semblance of sanity, regulation of financial companies must be tightened or overhauled to ensure that excesses that led to the global market crisis are not repeated soon, or ever (FINANCE-SUMMIT/REGULATION (ANALYSIS), moved at 1739, by Jonathan Stempel, 1,050 words)

ECONOMY AND RESOURCES

MADRID - Spanish gross domestic product fell 0.2 percent in the third quarter, sending the euro zone's fourth-largest economy into contraction for the first time in 15 years, the National Statistics Institute reports. (SPAIN-GDP/ (UPDATE 1), expect by 1000, by Andrew Hay, 450 words)

MILAN - European new car registrations suffer their second biggest fall of the year in October, down 14.5 percent, as the credit crunch and worsening economy discourages people from making such a big household purchase (AUTOS/SALES (UPDATE 1), by Giles Castonguay, moving shortly, 500 words)

BEIJING - Chinese capital spending was slighly lower than expected in October, consistent with weakness seen in other economic data this week as Beijing battles to keep the world's fourth-largest economy frm slowing too sharply (CHINA-ECONOMY/INVESTMENT (UPDATE 2), moved at 0709, 500 words)

SEOUL - Job growth in South Korea dwindles in October, as a top state-run agency warns overlal growth could hit a 6-year low in 2009 (KOREA-ECONOMY/, moved at 0700, by Cheon-Jong woo and Seo Eun-kyung, 400 words)

EUROPEAN COMPANIES BRUSSELS - Belgian-French financial services group Dexia agrees on the sale of its troubled U.S. bond insurance subsidiary and launches a cost-saving drive after a heavy third-quarter loss (DEXIA (UPDATE 2), expect by 1030, by Philip Blenkinsop, 600 words)

PARIS - Chief executive of Havas tells Reuters the world's sixth largest advertising group is likely to achieve slower than expected revenue growth this year, as a global economic slowdown takes its toll on the third quarter, driving shares down over 6 percent.(HAVAS (UPDATE 2, INTERVIEW), expect 1000, by Dominique Vidalon, 600 words)

LONDON The plan by Brtish bank Barclays to raise over 5 billion pounds from investors in the Middle East is given an "amber" rating by the Association of British Insurers, reflecting concerns some shareholders have with the deal. (BARCLAYS/VOTE-ABI UPDATE 2, expect by 1400, by Steve Slater, 500 words)

LONDON - Companies with experienced, battle-hardened management offer the best potential for returns in the turbulent months to come, according to a fund manager responsible for 2 billion euros in assets at Schroders. (SCHRODERS/ (FUND VIEW)), expect by 1100, by Cecilia Valente, 550 words)

ASIA PACIFIC COMPANIES

TOKYO - Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Japan's third-largest bank, says its quarterly profit has halved, hit by ballooning bad-loan costs and losses on its stock portfolio (SMFG/ (UPDATE 2), expect by 1030, by David Dolan, 500 words)

FEATURES

AL-QUDS PLANT, Iraq - Electricity has become a central measure in assessing how far Iraq has come since the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, and it is stubbornly negative. (IRAQ/ELECTRICITY