* Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening 14 to 16 points higher, or up 0.3 percent, according to financial bookmakers. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on
* The UK blue chip index closed down 0.5 percent, or 29.28 points lower, at 5,841.74 points on Monday.
* The IMF said the global economic slowdown is worsening as it cut its growth forecasts for the second time since April and warned U.S. and European policymakers that failure to fix their economic ills would prolong the slump.
* International lenders are considering giving Greece two more years to reach its budget deficit reduction targets, and the extra time could be financed without more money from the euro zone, Greek Finance Minster Yannis Stournaras said.
* British retail sales posted a solid rise last month as Britons splashed out on sturdy shoes and warm clothes, the British Retail Consortium said on Tuesday, raising the chances of a more lasting economic recovery.
* The decline in British house prices eased unexpectedly in September and surveyors forecast that sales would pick up in the wake of government efforts to make mortgages more readily available, a survey showed on Tuesday.
* In Britain, industrial and manufacturing output figures are due to be released. A Reuters poll has forecast a 0.5 percent month-on-month decline in industrial output, and a 0.6 percent fall in manufacturing output. .
* London copper bounced off one-week lows on Tuesday, boosted by expectations that top metals consumer China could roll out more pro-growth policies, ahead of a key leadership congress next month, to stabilise its economy.
* Brent crude futures rose towards $113 a barrel on Tuesday after two days of losses, with supply fears due to escalating tensions in the Middle East prevailing over a sluggish outlook for global demand.
* BP : BP's billionaire partners in TNK-BP , Russia's third-biggest oil producer, said they could sell or list their 50 percent stake in the business, plunging the venture's plans into further confusion, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
* BUMI : Sampoerna group, one of Indonesia's leading conglomerates, is leading a consortium of local investors that is in talks to buy a 50 percent stake in PT Fajar Bumi Sakti, a coal unit of Bumi Resources BUMI.JK, for around $200 million, sources said.
* BHP BILLITON : Top global miner BHP Billiton said it plans to cut an undisclosed number of jobs in iron ore, its biggest and most profitable business, as it tries to cope with weaker demand and prices, higher costs and a strong Australian dollar.
* BG : Tokyo Gas Co is in talks to buy a less than 10 percent stake in BG Group's Australian liquefied natural gas project, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a senior official at the Japanese firm.
* VEDANTA The miner reports Q2 output figures. * RIO TINTO The miner holds an investor seminar * HAYS The recruitment company issues a trading update. * HGCAPITAL TRUST The private equity company issues a trading update. * UK MAIL GROUP The logistics group issues a trading update. * XP POWER The electrical components group issues a Q3 update. TODAY'S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines
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