Reuters Business News Schedule at 0830 GMT

Published: 04 Jun 2009 00:57:32 PST

REUTERS BUSINESS NEWS SCHEDULE

Thursday, June 4, 2009

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EDITORS (TIMES GMT)

Asia: Sonya Hepinstall and Mathew Veedon +65 6870-3827 - 0230, 0630 GMT

Europe: Malcolm Davidson +44 20 7542 6958 - 0830, 1230 GMT

Americas: Eddie Evans and Jonathan Oatis +1 646 223 6207 - 1430, 1830 GMT

TOP STORIES

ECB set to hold rates; Fed looks to the future

FRANKFURT/LONDON - The European Central Bank is set to keep interest rates at record lows to help revive the euro zone economy, while the U.S. Federal Reserve looks further ahead to the need to tighten policy again to control the impact of massive stimulus (FINANCIAL/ (TOPWRAP 3), expect by 1100, tv, pix, graphics, by Sakari Suoninen and Ben Hirschler, 800 words)

ECB expected to hold rates, detail bond plan

FRANKFURT - The European Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates on hold at a record low of 1.0 percent. Markets are keen to see the nitty gritty details of its covered bond purchase plan, as well as clues on whether rates may yet be cut further and if other asset purchases are in the pipeline (ECB/RATES (UPDATE 3), expect by 1250, by Sakari Suoninen, 500 words)

Chinalco may revise Rio deal before deadline - sources

MELBOURNE - Chinese state-owned metals firm Chinalco may revise its planned $19.5 billion investment in miner Rio Tinto before a June 14 deadline to avoid further delays in Australian government approval, two sources close to the deal says (RIOTINTO-CHINALCO/ (UPDATE 3), moved, by Sonali Paul, 800 words)

+ See also:

- OZMINERALS/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 250 words

- IRONORE-BHP/CHINA (UPDATE 2), moved, by Nick Trevethan, 550 words

Latvian markets stay nervy on devaluation, loan fears

RIGA - Latvian markets stay edgy with lending rates at record highs due to worries over a possible devaluation; government insists no plans for a devaluation, but must meet IMF, EU budget cut demands to win further bailout funds (LATVIA-MARKETS/ (UPDATE 2), expect by 0930, by Patrick Lannin, 500 words)

MARKETS

European shares climb, dollar slides

LONDON - World equities traded close to 2009 highs despite losses on emerging markets and investor fervour being cooled by weaker U.S. private employment and services sector data (MARKETS-GLOBAL (WRAPUP 3), moved, by Jeremy Gaunt, 600 words)

Oil rises towards $67 after higher Goldman price forecast

LONDON - Oil rises towards $67 a barrel after a 3.5 percent decline the previous day, boosted by forecasts from U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs of higher prices (MARKETS-OIL (UPDATE 2), expect by 0930, by Joe Brock, 500 words)

Gold rises, ETF slips from record

LONDON- Gold prices rise as investors buy back the metal after a round of profit-taking the previous day, when the U.S. currency climbed and oil prices tumbled. (MARKETS-PRECIOUS (UPDATE 3), expect by 1100, by Jan Harvey, 500 words)

Copper steadies, demand concerns persist

LONDON - Copper steadies, as dismal U.S. data stokes persistent concerns about demand but higher European equities and a falling dollar provide some support (MARKETS-METALS (UPDATE 3), expect by 1030, by Rebekah Curtis, 500 words)

ECONOMY

Japan revised Q1 GDP likely to confirm record contraction

TOKYO - Japan's revised gross domestic product data for the first quarter is likely to confirm the economy contracted at a record pace, supporting the view of the government and economists that after bottoming out in the first quarter Japan is on a slow path to recovery from its worst recession since World War Two (JAPAN-ECONOMY/ (UPDATE 3), expect by 0830, by Stanley White, 400 words)

+ See also:

- JAPAN-ECONOMY/SHIRAKAWA (UPDATE 1) , moved, 400 words

Australia's c.bank sees room for more rate cuts

TOWNSVILLE, Australia - Australia's top central banker sees scope to cut interest rates further to ensure a durable economic upswing and cautions about falling business investment and consumer spending (AUSTRALIA-ECONOMY/ (WRAPUP 1), moved, by Cecile Lefort, 600 words)

+ See also:

- MARKETS-AUSTRALIA-DOLLAR/POLL, moved, by Anirban Nag, 600 words

India president: Growth, fiscal prudence a priority

NEW DELHI - Indian President Pratibha Patil says the government would aim to revive economic growth with higher investments in sectors such as infrastructure, while adhering to fiscal prudence (INDIA-ECONOMY/PRESIDENT (UPDATE 2), expect by 0900, 400 words)

COMPANIES

Voestalpine warns of H1 loss but market cheers div

VIENNA - Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine says it expects operating losses in the six months to September after profits evaporated in its fourth quarter to March, prompting company to halve its dividend (VOESTALPINE/RESULTS (UPDATE 2), expect by 0900, by Boris Groendahl, 500 words)

Takeda to delay European application for key drug

TOKYO - Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical says it would delay seeking European approval of a key diabetes drug candidate to 2012 from the original target of this year, to conduct an additional study -- a second major setback for the drug (TAKEDA/ (UPDATE 2), moved, by Yumiko Nishitani, 400 words)

Chinese machine maker's Hummer buy raises eyebrows

SHANGHAI - A little-known player in China's heavy machinery industry emerged from nowhere to agree to buy General Motor's Hummer brand, raising eyebrows among peers who question whether it can turn around the U.S. automaker (GM/HUMMER-TENGZHONG, moved, by Fang Yan and Edmund Klamann, 700 words)

+ See also:

- JAPAN-AUTO/, moved, 200 words

AIG weighs options as it pushes on ILFC sale -source

NEW YORK - American International Group Inc is in talks to line up financing to facilitate the sale of its aircraft leasing unit, but it will consider options such as selling some aircraft if it fails to do so, a person familiar with the matter says (AIG/ILFC, moved, by Paritosh Bansal, 500 words)

Video game industry prays for resilient 2009

LOS ANGELES - Game publishers, in a rare moment of solidarity, join forces to convey optimism for the future of their $30 billion industry despite spiraling consumer spending and a global economic downturn (VIDEOGAMES/ (WRAPUP 1), moved, pix, by Franklin Paul and Edwin Chan, 800 words)

ENVIRONMENT

U.S. envoy sees climate partnership with China

WASHINGTON - The United States wants to forge a partnership with China, bringing the world's two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases together to address global warming, Washington's top climate diplomat says(CLIMATE-USA/CHINA (UPDATE 3), moved, by Deborah Zabarenko, 500 words)

ENERGY SUMMIT

Hin Leong eyes Singapore, China oil storage boost

SINGAPORE - Asia's leading oil trader Hin Leong plans to expand capacity its Singapore storage terminal by 30 percent, is eyeing invesment opportunities in southern China and may even go into refining, in a bid to become an integrated oil company, a top executive says (ENERGY-SUMMIT/HIN LEONG (UPDATE 1), expect by 0900, by Jennifer Tan and Yaw Yan Chong, 800 words)

+ See also:

- ENERGY-SUMMIT/HIN LEONG-MARKETS (UPDATE 1), expect by 0930

ANALYSIS

Prices climb as focus switches to supply challenges

LONDON - Cocoa prices have reversed direction and climbed to the highest level in two months, shaking off concerns about slowing demand as traders focus on future supply challenges in West Africa (COCOA-OUTLOOK (ANALYSIS), expect by 1330, by Nigel Hunt, 650 words)

3D to bring new dimension, profits to PC world

TAIPEI - At a packed stall during the Computex show in Taiwan this week, young buyers excitedly put on 3D-enabling glasses that turned flat images on PC screens into solid objects. 3D, long reserved for movie theaters, is emerging as a profitable niche for the PC world even though it is not quite ready for the masses yet (COMPUTEX/3D (ANALYSIS), moved, pix, by Baker Li, 700 words)

Touchscreen PCs more hype than reality?

TAIPEI - Touchscreen technology is sweeping the consumer electronics market as technology brands hope to come up with the next iPhone, but these new toys could be little more than plenty of hype especially in the PC market (COMPUTEX/TOUCHSCREENS (ANALYSIS), moved, pix, by Kelvin Soh, 800 words)

FEATURE

Forest carbon market already shows cracks

LONDON/NUSA DUA, Indonesia - It could save the rainforests of Borneo, slow climate change and the international community backs it. But a plan to pay tropical countries not to chop down trees risks being discredited by opportunists even before it starts (CLIMATE-CARBON/TROPICS