Business Report at 0245 GMT

REUTERS BUSINESS REPORT

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

(All times GMT)

TOP HEADLINES

WASHINGTON - Paulson, US lawmakers lock horns on foreclosures

NEW YORK - Auto execs say they're on the brink of disaster

HONG KONG - Asian markets retreat ignoring Wall Street rally

TOP STORIES

WASHINGTON - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and members of Congress clash over the best use for the $700 billion financial bailout fund, with lawmakers demanding money to stem a national wave of mortgage foreclosures (FINANCIAL/USA (WRAPUP 2), moved at 1927, by Glenn Somerville, 950 words)

WASHINGTON - U.S. auto executives warn Congress that their industry is teetering on the brink of disaster as they plead for a $25 billion aid package despite political opposition to another multibillion-dollar government bailout (AUTOS/BAILOUT (WRAPUP 6), moved at 0139, by John Crawley and Kevin Drawbaugh, 1,150 words)

HONG KONG - Asian stock markets retreat, with a late rally on Wall Street doing little to offset pervasive worries that the global economy's sharp slowdown will take a severe toll on corporate profits and consumer spending (MARKETS-GLOBAL (WRAPUP 1), expect by 0300, by Eric Burroughs, 650 words)

MARKETS

TOKYO - The yen rises against the dollar and the euro as Asian stocks fail to follow a rally on Wall Street, prompting worried investors to return to the safety of the Japanese currency (MARKETS-FOREX (UPDATE 1), expect by 0330, by Satomi Noguchi, 600 words)

SINGAPORE - Oil prices are little changed above $54 a barrel ahead of data expected to show U.S. crude stocks rose last week, another sign that the global economic slump is clipping fuel demand (MARKETS-OIL (UPDATE 1), expect by 0600, by Annika Breidthardt, 500 words)

MORE ON THE FINANCIAL CRISIS

WASHINGTON - Americans who were banking on soaring home and stock prices to finance their retirement will have to go back to saving the old-fashioned way, ushering in a new era of frugality that may last for years (FINANCIAL/CREDIT-SAVINGS (ANALYSIS), moved at 2043, by Emily Kaiser, 800 words)

LONDON/BOSTON - Hedge funds are facing heavy year-end outflows as investors pull out their cash after record poor returns, but this is unlikely to heighten market volatility as many funds have already taken evasive action (HEDGE-REDEMPTIONS/ (ANALYSIS), moved at 1615, by Laurence Fletcher and Svea Herbst, 850 words)

NEW YORK - The U.S. housing slump is likely to worsen in 2009 as fallout from this year's plunge in the stock market and consumer confidence continues to discourage potential buyers (HOMEBUILDERS-DOWNTURN/ (ANALYSIS), moving shortly, by Helen Chernikoff, 950 words)

ECONOMY AND RESOURCES

SYDNEY - Australia's top grain marketer, AWB, forecasts a slow recovery in wheat prices as the country's farmers put drought behind them and harvest their best crop for three years (AWB/ (UPDATE 2), expect by 0300, by Bruce Hextall, 600 words)

SEOUL - In another sign of the financial crisis hitting South Korea, the country's overall debt default ratio -- the proportion of debts that companies can no longer service -- rose in October, central bank data are expected to show (FINANCIAL/KOREA, expect by 0300, by Seo Eunkyung, 200 words)

BEIJING - China warns of danger of social instability amid global financial crisis after hundreds of rioters attack a government office and torch cars in anger over resettlement plans (CHINA-RIOT/, expect by 0300, 400 words)

COMPANIES

TOKYO - Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group aims to raise about 400 billion yen ($4.1 billion) to redeem outstanding preferred securities and protect its capital adequacy from bad-loan costs, the Yomiuri newspaper reports (SMFG/ (UPDATE 1), expect by 0400, 400 words)

SYDNEY - Australian investment firm Babcock & Brown puts about half its asset base up for sale, announces sweeping job cuts and seeks to renegotiate its bank debts to safeguard its future (BABCOCK&BROWN/ (UPDATE 1), moved at 0038, by Mette Fraende, 450 words)

SINGAPORE - Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines, the world's seventh largest container shipper, tightens its belt by axing 9 percent of its global workforce as it faces a gloomy 2009 (SINGAPORE-NOL/ (UPDATE 2), expect by 0300, by Melanie Lee, 500 words)

NEW YORK - Citigroup Inc shares tumbled below $8 for the first time in 13 years amid concerns its plan to shed 52,000 jobs might not be enough to restore the banking giant to health or profitability soon (CITIGROUP/ (UPDATE 2), moved at 2124, by Jonathan Stempel, 550 words)

NEW YORK - Hewlett-Packard Co posts stronger-than-expected results and forecasts full-year profit above Wall Street estimates, underscoring its resilience to an economic crisis that has dragged down other tech companies (HEWLETTPACKARD/ (UPDATE 4), moved at 2202, by Tiffany Wu and Paul Thomasch, 800 words)

ATLANTA - Home Depot Inc reports a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as it reduced price markdowns in the face of lower sales and a weak economy, sending its shares up as much as 7 percent (HOMEDEPOT/ (UPDATE 3), moved at 1845, by Karen Jacobs, 750 words)

FEATURES

TRIPOLI - As economic barriers fall between Libya and the West, a boom-town atmosphere fed by the novelty of consumer culture has gripped its capital Tripoli (LIBYA-CITY/ (BUSINESS FEATURE), moved at 0004, pix, by Tom Pfeiffer, 1,000 words)

PIRAEUS, Greece - Global shipping is facing its worst crisis in decades. In just a few months, dry cargo rates have fallen by more than 90 percent as a five-year boom has turned to bust. For Greece, which owns a fifth of the world's fleet, that spells trouble (GREECE-ECONOMY/SHIPPING (BUSINESS FEATURE), moved at 0003, pix, tv, by Daniel Flynn and Deborah Kyvrikosaios, 900 words)

GREENWICH, Conn. - In Greenwich, Connecticut, the town most identified with hedge funds, luxury car dealers are silent, the prices of its mansions are declining, and the retailers who have made a decent living out of its wealthy residents are complaining (FINANCIAL-GREENWICH/