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• Reuters World News Highlights at 0515 GMT, Jun 19 Wednesday, 19 Jun 2013 | 1:57 AM ET

  WASHINGTON/ KABUL- The United States and the Taliban raised hopes for a negotiated peace in Afghanistan with commitments to meet this week after 12 years of bloody and costly war between American-led forces and the insurgents.

• UPDATE 1-Brent holds above $106, all eyes on Fed Wednesday, 19 Jun 2013 | 1:47 AM ET

  *Syria peace conference unlikely before Aug- source. SINGAPORE, June 19- Brent crude futures held above $106 a barrel on Wednesday as investors looked to a Federal Reserve meeting for clues on the outlook for a U.S. stimulus programme that has underpinned commodity prices. Brent futures for August delivery had gained 13 cents to $106.15 a barrel by 0522 GMT.

• UK Lawmakers Call for 'Reckless' Bankers to Face Jail Wednesday, 19 Jun 2013 | 1:43 AM ET

  

  Britain should introduce laws making it possible to jail "reckless" bankers and claw back past bonus and pension awards, an influential panel of lawmakers said.

• CORRECTED-Brent holds above $106, all eyes on Fed Wednesday, 19 Jun 2013 | 1:42 AM ET

  *Syria peace conference unlikely before Aug- source. SINGAPORE, June 19- Brent crude futures held above $106 a barrel on Wednesday as investors looked to a Federal Reserve meeting for clues on the outlook for a U.S. stimulus programme that has underpinned commodity prices. Brent futures for August delivery had edged down 1 cent to $106.01 a barrel by 0310 GMT.

• ANALYSIS-French EU-wariness complicates life for Hollande Wednesday, 19 Jun 2013 | 1:30 AM ET

  PARIS, June 19- A feeling in France that the European Union no longer works in its interest is fueling tensions between Paris and Brussels and adding pressure on President Francois Hollande to be more assertive in Europe.

• Netflix to bring video streaming service to The Netherlands Wednesday, 19 Jun 2013 | 12:00 AM ET

  June 18- Netflix Inc will launch its TV and movie streaming service in The Netherlands later this year, expanding its reach further into Europe, the company said on Tuesday.

• UPDATE 1-Asia business sentiment rises in Q2, global growth risk still dominates Tuesday, 18 Jun 2013 | 11:06 PM ET

  *Sentiment in China continues at record low. SEOUL, June 19- Asia's top companies have become more optimistic about their business outlook with the retail and shipping industries rebounding sharply in the second quarter of 2013, the latest Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Asia Business Sentiment Survey shows.

• METALS-London copper languishes near 1-1/2 mth low, Fed in focus Tuesday, 18 Jun 2013 | 9:46 PM ET

  *Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was almost flat at $7,005 a tonne by 0113 GMT, after falling on Tuesday to its lowest since May 3 at $6,965.

• NYMEX-U.S. oil steady below $99 ahead of Fed announcement Tuesday, 18 Jun 2013 | 8:57 PM ET

  PERTH, June 19- U.S. oil prices were steady below $99 on Wednesday as investors waited for the U.S. *NYMEX crude futures for July delivery had risen 6 cents to $98.50 a barrel by 0053 GMT, after climbing to a nine-month high of $98.74 a barrel on Monday. *Brent crude rose 6 cents to $106.08 a barrel.

• G8 Welcomes Japan's Economic Policies, Abe Says Tuesday, 18 Jun 2013 | 8:51 PM ET

  

  Japanese PM Abe said on Tuesday G8 leaders expressed strong support for his "Abenomics" economic policies and heard no concerns about Japan's super easy monetary easing.

• Outbreak of deadly piglet virus spreads to 13 U.S. states Tuesday, 18 Jun 2013 | 8:35 PM ET

  CHICAGO, June 18- A swine virus deadly to young pigs, one never before seen in North America, is spreading rapidly across the United States and proving harder to control than previously believed.

• Algeria probes state power boss over Alstom, GE deals Tuesday, 18 Jun 2013 | 8:18 PM ET

  June 19- Algeria is investigating the head of its state power and gas utility, Sonelgaz, over contracts involving U.S. conglomerate General Electric Co and France's Alstom SA, sources told Reuters and Algerian local media reported. "The case is about inflating costs in deals with U.S. firm General Electric and French firm Alstom," one of the sources said.

• Hong Kong Investigates HSBC for Manipulating Rates Tuesday, 18 Jun 2013 | 7:55 PM ET

  

  Hong Kong's central bank said on Tuesday that its investigation into possible benchmark rate manipulation has been extended to include HSBC and a number of other banks.

• Nikkei expected to rise on Fed hopes, weak yen Tuesday, 18 Jun 2013 | 7:33 PM ET

  TOKYO, June 19- Japan's Nikkei share average is expected to rise to a one-week high on Wednesday, helped by a second-straight day of gains on Wall Street as investors bet that the Federal Reserve would temper worries about an imminent roll back of its stimulus programme.

• Vodafone raises Kabel Deutschland offer after rival bid -report Tuesday, 18 Jun 2013 | 7:21 PM ET

  June 18- Britain's Vodafone Group Plc has raised its preliminary offer to buy Germany's largest cable operator, Kabel Deutschland Holding AG, a day after U.S. media group Liberty Global Plc made a rival bid, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the bid.

• UK's Osborne to unveil future of state-controlled banks Tuesday, 18 Jun 2013 | 7:05 PM ET

  LONDON, June 19- The fate of Britain's two state-controlled banks will become clearer on Wednesday, when finance minister George Osborne is likely to start the clock ticking for the sale of the government's stakes.

• UK lawmakers call for "reckless" bankers to face jail Tuesday, 18 Jun 2013 | 7:01 PM ET

  LONDON, June 19- Britain should introduce laws making it possible to jail "reckless" bankers and claw back past bonus and pension awards, an influential panel of lawmakers said on Wednesday.

• Microsoft says it freed millions of computers from criminal botnet Tuesday, 18 Jun 2013 | 6:29 PM ET

  *Microsoft says $500 million stolen before crack down. BOSTON, June 18- Microsoft Corp said that an assault it led earlier this month on one of the world's biggest cyber crime rings has freed at least 2 million PCs infected with a virus believed to have been used to steal more than $500 million from bank accounts worldwide.

• PM Abe says G8 welcomed Japan's economic policies Tuesday, 18 Jun 2013 | 6:11 PM ET

  BELFAST, June 18- Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday G8 leaders expressed strong support for his "Abenomics" economic policies and heard no concerns about Japan's super easy monetary easing.

• COMMODITIES-Little changed, markets await Fed outcome Wednesday Tuesday, 18 Jun 2013 | 5:50 PM ET

  Brent crude settled 55 cents higher at $106.02 per barrel after trading as high as $106.24. Front-month U.S. crude oil futures finished 67 cents higher at $98.44 per barrel, after reaching $98.61. The benchmark three-month futures contract in London ended at $7,005 a tonne, down from Monday's close of $7,082.