Business Report at 0635 GMT

REUTERS BUSINESS REPORT

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Sonya Hepinstall and Mathew Veedon +65 6870-3827

0230, 0630 GMT

Jason Neely +44 207 542 8825

0930, 1330 GMT

Picture Desk: Singapore +65 6870 3775

Graphics queries: +65 6870 3595

(All times GMT) ---------------------------------------------------------------

TOP HEADLINES

SINGAPORE - Australia, China data reinforce recession fears

BEIJING - China Oct inflation falls to 17-month low of 4%

TOKYO - Mitsubishi Rayon to buy UK's Lucite for $1.6 bln

TOP STORIES

SINGAPORE - Evidence of a weakening Chinese economy, feeble data from Australia and Britain and a darkening corporate outlook in the United States reinforce fears of a prolonged global recession (FINANCIAL/ (TOPWRAP 2), expect by 0730, pix, tv, by Alex Richardson, 750 words)

BEIJING - China's inflation falls to a 17-month low of 4.0 percent in October, providing fresh evidence that policy makers need not worry about price pressures and can bend all their efforts to propping up growth (CHINA-ECONOMY/CPI (UPDATE 2), expect by 0800, 500 words)

TOKYO - Japan's Mitsubishi Rayon Co says it will acquire unlisted British chemicals producer Lucite International for $1.6 billion. Mitsubishi Rayon also says it would seek a partner for the investment while keeping a majority stake (MITSUBISHIRAYON/LUCITE (UPDATE 1), expect by 0800, by Taiga Uranaka, 400 words)

MARKETS

HONG KONG - Asian stock markets and commodities retreat while the yen pushes higher as a souring economic outlook cools some of the investor hopes sparked by China's massive stimulus plan (MARKETS-GLOBAL (WRAPUP 2), expect by 0700, by Eric Burroughs, 600 words)

TOKYO - The dollar edges up against a basket of currencies as investors remain jittery over a global recession with a dismal outlook for U.S. companies in a harsh economic environment (MARKETS-FOREX (UPDATE 2), moved at 0548, by Satomi Noguchi,600 words)

SINGAPORE - Oil, grains and industrial metals pull back as fears of widespread recession overwhelm cautious optimism over Beijing's $600 billion stimulus package (MARKETS-COMMODITIES, expect by 0700, by Naveen Thukral, 600 words)

HONG KONG - Asian risk premiums rose on Tuesday amid renewed investor jitters about earnings prospects and Fannie Mae's vulnerability to short-term debt refinancing risk (ASIA-BONDS/, moved at 0558, 500 words)

MORE ON THE FINANCIAL CRISIS

TOKYO - Japan's exports tumble nearly 10 percent in the first 20 days of October, evidence the global economy deteriorated sharply after the financial crisis struck in mid-September (FINANCIAL/JAPAN (UPDATE 2), moving shortly, by Yuzo Saeki, 800 words)

SEOUL - South Korean bank capital ratios fall to their lowest in seven and a half years and exports during the first 10 days of November fall more than 25 percent, adding to worries about a slowdown in the economy (FINANCIAL/KOREA (WRAPUP 1), expect by 0800, by Rhee So-eui and Cheon Jong-woo, 650 words)

LONDON - Some $2.1 trillion of European company and bank debt matures in the next three years, raising "substantial refinancing risk", Standard & Poor's says (S&P/CREDIT-REFINANCING, moved, by Natalie Harrison, 600 words)

ASTANA - The government of Kazakhstan and the country's four largest banks have agreed on terms for at least $3.47 billion in capital injections designed to help banks deal with the global credit crisis, state-owned SamrukKazyna fund says (KAZAKHSTAN-BANKS/ (UPDATE 1), moved at 0518, 250 words)

ANALYSES

SINGAPORE - Asian authorities spent billions of dollars to defend their currencies during October's market rout, with some success in avoiding a crisis, but they are now likely to favour some currency depreciation to support exports, so heavy handed intervention is likely to be reined in (MARKETS-ASIA/INTERVENTION (ANALYSIS), expect by 0730, by Kevin Yao, 800 words)

MELBOURNE - Australian fertiliser company Incitec Pivot Ltd's surprise capital raising plans sparks talk the company could be raising cash to fund an acquisition (INCITEC/ (DEALTALK), expect by 0730, by Sonali Paul and Denny Thomas, 500 words)

ECONOMY

SINGAPORE - Asian holdings of foreign exchange reserves, excluding those of China's, shrink by $119 billion in October, central bank data shows, as authorities defend their currencies amid the emerging market rout (ECONOMY-ASIA/RESERVES (UPDATE 1), moved at 00604, 350 words)

SHANGHAI - China's foreign exchange watchdog releases details of a quota system for domestic trade firms to pay for imports in advance, a move analysts say will help the government lower the risks of possible capital outflows (CHINA-CAPITAL/OUTFLOWS, moved at 0428, 400 words)

SYDNEY - Australian business conditions have taken a steep turn for the worse as confidence slumped to record lows in the eye of October's financial storm, and even a bold cut in official interest rates provided cold comfort (AUSTRALIA-ECONOMY/, moved at 0030, 600 words)

RESOURCES

SYDNEY - U.S. aluminium giant Alcoa Inc slashes a further 350,000 tonnes of aluminium-making capacity worldwide, the latest cutback by a major producer in the face of deteriorating markets (ALCOA/ALUMINIUM (WRAPUP 1), moved at 0600, by James Regan, 700 words)

TOKYO - JFE Steel Corp, the world's third-biggest steelmaker, says it may cancel or suspend projects to build integrated steel mill plants in Brazil and Vietnam if demand remains weak (JFE/PROJECTS (INTERVIEW, UPDATE 1), expect by 0800, by Yuko Inoue, 400 words)

COMPANIES

TOKYO - Goldman Sachs Group Inc cuts about 10 percent of its investment bankers in Tokyo, including one of Japan's top women bankers, as part of global efforts to cut its workforce, say people familiar with the matter (GOLDMAN/JAPAN (UPDATE 1), moved at 0422, 250 words)

SEOUL - Samsung Securities, South Korea's biggest brokerage, is set to report a fall in third-quarter net profit due to losses in stock and bond investments as global financial markets plunged (SAMSUNGSECURITIES/ (UPDATE 1), expect by 0700, by Park Jung-youn, 400 words)

HONG KONG - Distressed debt specialist ADM Capital is looking at raising up to $1 billion in new funds in the coming year to capitalise on a wave of Asian opportunities created by the global financial crisis (FINANCE-SUMMIT/ADM (UPDATE 1), expect by 0800, by Umesh Desai and Jeffrey Hodgson, 400 words)

BEIJING - Workers at a diesel engine factory in eastern China were in talks with local officials after days of protests and road blocks over job security at the troubled plant, locals and police say (CHINA-PROTEST/, moved at 0509, 250 words)

FEATURES

TOKYO - Japanese office worker Satoshi Tada pays for shopping, wins free food and gets store discounts all by waving his mobile phone. The world's top firms such as Visa Inc and Nokia are still mostly testing phone use for payments, but in Japan, more than 50 million, or about half of all cellphone users, already carry phones capable of serving as wallets (JAPAN-MOBILE/WALLETS (TECHNOLOGY FEATURE), moved at 0003, by Sachi Izumi, 1,200 words)

NEW YORK - As U.S. consumers cut spending this year, fashion-conscious women are considering recycling last year's dress for this year's office party -- bad news for designers, boutiques and department stores (FINANCIAL/PARTYDRESS