Reuters Business News Schedule at 0655 GMT

Published: 17 Nov 2009 22:58:27 PST

REUTERS BUSINESS NEWS SCHEDULE

Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009

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

Europe: Elizabeth Piper and Jason Neely +44 20 7542 8825 - 0930, 1330 GMT

Americas: Eddie Evans and Jonathan Oatis +1 646 223 6207 - 1530, 1930 GMT

Pictures (Singapore) -- +65 6870 3775

Graphics (Singapore) -- +65 6870 3595

TOP STORIES

Obama and Wen trade views as China visit winds down

BEIJING - U.S. President Barack Obama continued courting China in talks with Premier Wen Jiabao, opening an opportunity to press him on the economic and currency strains that have shadowed his goodwill visit (OBAMA-CHINA (WRAPUP 4), expect by 0730, by Caren Bohan and Patricia Zengerle, pix, tv, 750 words)

Hershey, Ferrero in talks over Cadbury-source

PHILADELPHIA/MILAN - Chocolate makers Hershey Co and Ferrero SpA are considering a joint bid for Cadbury Plc that could help the British confectioner fend off a hostile takeover by Kraft Foods Inc (CADBURY-FERRERO/ (UPDATE 5), moved, by Jessica Hall and Jo Winterbottom, 700 words)

JAL shares slide; court-led bankruptcy not ruled out

TOKYO - Japan Airlines' stock slides to a new low after the nation's transport minister declines to rule out a court-led bankruptcy and despite a report that private equity firm TPG may invest as much as $1.1 billion (JAL/ (UPDATE 4), expect by 0800, by Nobuhiro Kubo and Nathan Layne, 700 words) + See also: - JAL/DELTA, moved, 100 words

MARKETS

Gold slips on profit taking, dollar stays down

SINGAPORE - Gold falls on profit taking after reaching a record high on economic uncertainties and a downtrend in the dollar, while Asian stocks edge higher as hunger for risk stays high as the year end approaches (MARKETS-GLOBAL (WRAPUP 2), expect by 0730, by Yoo Choonsik and Kevin Plumberg, 500 words)

Dlr drifts sideways before U.S. data, BOE minutes

TOKYO - The dollar drifts sideways after short-covering wanes in Asia and as investors await U.S. inflation data, as well as minutes from the Bank of England's November meeting for clues on its decision to expand its asset buying programme (MARKETS-FOREX (UPDATE 1), moved, by Kaori Kaneko, 600 words)

ANALYSIS

India IPO funding seen hit by unsecured lending curb

MUMBAI - A popular tactic used by Indian brokerages to raise money for rich clients is likely to be banned by the central bank's move to curb unregulated lending, potentially crimping funding for a long pipeline of planned IPOs (DEALTALK/INDIA-IPOFUNDING, expect by 0900, by Jeanette Rodrigues and Pratish Narayanan, 800 words)

ECONOMY

Yuan decision is for State Council-PBOC's Fan

HONG KONG - China's decision on whether to resume appreciation of the yuan is complicated as it will be made by the State Council, Fan Gang, a member of the People's Bank of China's monetary policy committee, tells Reuters (CHINA-ECONOMY/FAN-INTERVIEW (UPDATE 2), expect by 0800, by Deborah Kan and Susan Fenton, 550 words)

Indonesia c.banker downplays threat of capital controls

JAKARTA - Indonesia's central bank plays down the immediate threat of curbs on foreign ownership of short-term debt after its earlier mention of controls hit the rupiah currency (INDONESIA-ECONOMY/CONTROLS (WRAPUP 2), expect by 0800, by Gde Anugrah Arka, 750 words) + See also: - INDONESIA-ECONOMY/CONTROLS (FACTBOX), moved

RESOURCES

Europe steel lobby urges EC to oppose Rio-BHP jv

SYDNEY - Europe's steel industry voices strong opposition to a planned $116 billion iron ore joint venture by global miners Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, and calls on European regulators to oppose the deal (RIO-BHP/EUROPE (UPDATE 1), moved, 500 words)

IPO

Scarcity to drive up Malaysia's Maxis on debut

KUALA LUMPUR - With many local institutions squeezed out of IPO allocations, Maxis Bhd, Malaysia's top mobile services provider by market share, looks set to trade up when it debuts on Thursday in Southeast Asia's biggest initial offering (MAXIS/ (PREVIEW), moved, by Soo Ai Peng , 800 words)

Fantasia raises $410 mln in Hong Kong IPO -source

HONG KONG - Chinese property developer Fantasia Holdings Group Co Ltd raises $410 million, pricing its Hong Kong initial public offering near the top of an indicated range, a source close to the deal says (FANTASIA-IPO/ (UPDATE 1), moved, by Kennix Chim, 400 words)

FUNDS

Japan retail investors seek funds in high-yield currencies

TOKYO - Japanese retail investors looking for higher returns are taking on more exposure to foreign currency-linked mutual funds, mainly in Brazil -- this year's hit destination for Japan's $665 billion retail fund market (JAPAN-FUNDS/, moved, by Chikafumi Hodo, 800 words)

LaSalle: Australia property market less compelling

SYDNEY - High taxes and a rapid asset price recovery have made the Australia property market less compelling for funds seeking high returns, with more attractive options in Japan and Singapore, according to a top executive of LaSalle Investment Management (AUSTRALIA-PROPERTY/LASALLE (INTERVIEW), moved, by Eriko Amaha, 500 words)

China pension fund to invest in AgBank-executive

BEIJING - Agricultural Bank of China, the only big state lender yet to float shares, plans to bring the national pension fund in as an investor ahead of its long-awaited listing, a AgBank executive says (CHINA-AGBANK/, moved, 350 words)

COMPANIES

Microsoft ordered to stop some Windows sales in China

SHANGHAI - Microsoft Corp has been ordered by a Chinese court to stop selling versions of its Windows operating systems that include fonts designed by a local company, citing a violation of licensing agreements (CHINA-MICROSOFT/ (UPDATE 2), expect by 0930, 500 words)

China's No.3 refrigerator maker up for sale-source

HONG KONG - Hong Leong Group, owned by Singapore billionaire Kwek Leng Beng, is considering selling its 90 percent stake in Xinfei, China's No.3 refrigerator maker, in a deal that could fetch more than $700 million, a source says (HONGLEONG-CHINA/DEAL (UPDATE 2), expect by 0730, by George Chen, 650 words)

Orbis opposes Canon's $1.1 bln bid for Oce

TOKYO - Orbis Portfolio Management will not tender its shares in Dutch copier and printer maker Oce to Canon Inc, saying the 730 million euro ($1.1 billion) bid "significantly" underprices Oce (OCE/ORBIS (UPDATE 1), expect by 0730, 300 words)

Toyota Oct car sales up 5 pct, 1st rise in 15 months

TOKYO - Toyota Motor Corp's global vehicle sales jump 5 percent in October to about 640,000 units, marking the first year-on-year increase in 15 months, the world's biggest automaker says (TOYOTA/SALES (UPDATE 1), moved, 150 words)

Mitsubishi UFJ reports first-half results

TOKYO - Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan's biggest bank, reports its first-half results, which were likely helped by a fall in bad loans and an improvement in its stock portfolio (MUFG/RESULTS, expect by 0800, 200 words)

ZTE banks on China finance for GSM growth

HONG KONG - China's ZTE expects to take about a fifth of the global market for wireless mobile equipment based on the GSM standard, using financial assistance from Beijing to fund its rapid expansion (ZTE/ (UPDATE 1), moved, by Doug Young and Joanne Chiu, 400 words)

FEATURES

Panama remakes its famous canal for giant ships

PANAMA CITY - One of the world's greatest engineering marvels is being overhauled as work crews blast through hills to widen and deepen the Panama Canal to make room for a new generation of mega-ships. Defying the world economic downturn, Panama is spending $5.25 billion in the first major expansion of the canal since it was opened in 1914 (PANAMA-CANAL/ (FEATURE), moved, pix, by Sean Mattson, 950 words)

Virtual pioneers: Macedonia schools to get wired

SKOPJE/SAN FRANCISCO - "Practical English Grammar by Correspondence" -- a 1973 tome published by the Soviet Union -- sits atop a pile of books on the librarian's desk in Macedonia's Grigor Prlichev elementary school. It's a good book for learning English, he says. Down the corridor in a room protected by a locked door and metal gate are rows of unopened boxes of computers, waiting to be installed under a 60-million euro ($90 million) programme to give every pupil in the school system access (TECH-MACEDONIA/SCHOOLS (BUSINESS FEATURE), movedm pix, by Adam Tanner and David Lawsky, 1,000 words)

U.S. coal industry stakes survival on carbon capture

NEW HAVEN, West Va - A looming government clampdown on CO2 emissions is about to confront an already embattled U.S. coal power industry with two stark options: capture carbon or die. Legislation from Congress or tough new regulatory demands could make it costly to spew greenhouse gases, posing a serious threat to the nation's coal-fired power plants (USA-CARBON/COAL