* Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening down 16-19 points, or 0.4 percent on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers, extending recent sharp falls into a fourth straight session and tracking declines on Wall Street and in Asia as worries Spain may need a full debt bailout dog markets. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on
* The UK blue chip index closed down 34.64 points, or 0.6 percent at 5,499.23 on Tuesday, ending below 5,500 for the first time since June 28, with financial stocks knocked by concerns over exposure to euro zone debt, exacerbated by fears Greece would struggle to meet the terms of its aid package.
* U.S. tech giant Apple Inc saw its second-quarter results fall short of Wall Street's lofty expectations as a sagging European economy and a pause in iPhone sales ahead of the release of a new version saw revenues slip from the previous quarter.
Apple shares fell more than 5 percent in late trade on Wall Street, and Apple's suppliers also felt the pain in Asia as shares in LG Display , Toshiba and Hon Hai sank between 5 and 7 percent.
* HSBC - UK Trade Minister Stephen Green said he "regrets" the compliance failings of HSBC in relation to alleged money-laundering when he was chairman there, but said he had no plans to quit.
* BP - The oil major failed to pay attention to major areas of potential danger on its oil rigs, according to a new report into the Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 people and unleashed America's worst oil spill, the Guardian said.
* VODAFONE - The mobile phone firm bucked the anti-executive pay trends of the so-called Shareholder Spring after more investors voted in favour of its remuneration policies at this year's annual meeting than in 2011, the Daily Telegraph said.
* China's economy is set for a soft landing even as global headwinds increase, the International Monetary Fund said in a report on Wednesday that urged further reform and currency appreciation to rebalance growth and reduce risks.
* China's economic growth will likely pick up in the second half of 2012 as a raft of policies rolled out to boost economic activity gain traction, the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Wednesday.
* Britain tipped into a second recession within four years at the end of last year, and second-quarter GDP data due at 0830 GMT is forecast to show a further contraction of 0.2 percent, on top of the 0.3 percent decline at the start of the year.
* July's Confederation of British industry (CBI) trends-orders survey is due at 1000 GMT.
* Across the Atlantic, weekly U.S. mortgage and refinancing indexes will be released at 1100 GMT, with June U.S. new home sales data due at 1400 GMT.
* Only one FTSE 100 stock -- Scottish & Southern Energy -- will trade without entitlement to its latest dividend on Wednesday, with the ex-dividend move knocking 2.09 points off the FTSE 100 index.
* UK CORPORATE DIARY:
GLAXOSMITHKLINE posts second-quarter results.
ARM HOLDINGS reveals second-quarter results.
BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO reports first-half results.
BRITISH LAND issues a trading update.
BT GROUP posts first-quarter results.
TULLOW OIL unveils first-half results.
CAPITA posts first-half results.
DAILY MAIL & GENERAL issues a trading update.
EASYJET issues a trading update.
PETROPAVLOVSK issues a trading update.
MARSTON'S issues a trading update.
INFORMA delivers first-half results.
LANCASHIRE HOLDINGS reports second-quarter results.
HOGG ROBINSON GROUP issues a trading update.
MECOM GROUP reports first-half results.
ASHLEY HOUSE reveals full-year results.
RENISHAW delivers full-year results.
E2V TECHNOLOGIES issues a trading update.
SCIENTIFIC DIGITAL IMAGING posts full-year results.
SYNECTICS unveils first-half results.
TARSUS GROUP reports first-half results.
YELL GROUP unveils first-quarter results.
BREWIN DOLPHIN issues a trading update.
COOKSON GROUP posts first-half results.
CALEDONIA INVESTMENTS holds its annual general meeting.
DIGITAL BARRIERS holds its annual general meeting.
FIRSTGROUP holds its annual general meeting.
RED24 holds its annual general meeting.
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times
> Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134 For more information on Top News visit topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Jon Hopkins)
Asia stocks ebb as Europe crisis clouds outlook - The Guardian
BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stock markets continued to ebb Wednesday amid fears Europe's debt crisis is about to get much worse and deal a new blow to the global economy.
Global markets have been roiled by a sudden surge in Spain's borrowing costs above 7 percent, a level that is likely unaffordable if sustained and could force Europe's fourth-biggest economy to seek a monumentally expensive financial rescue.
Greece is also back in focus because of the possibility it will miss government deficit reduction targets that are a condition of the European and IMF bailout that kept the country from defaulting on its debt mountain and leaving the euro common currency.
Investors continue to hope the U.S. Federal Reserve will take new steps to boost economic growth, which was helping to temper falls in markets after a sharp global sell-off on Monday.
"Speculation that the Fed is close to announcing further stimulus seems to be helping to limit the downside," said IG Markets strategist Stan Shamu in an emailed commentary. "Several officials have expressed both frustration with the disappointing recovery and a willingness to act if growth and employment don't pick up."
Europe's prolonged crisis is dragging on global economic growth at the same time as China's economy slows from a breakneck pace and the U.S. recovery stumbles. But so far the downturn is not as severe as the economic crunch that followed the 2008 financial crisis.
"While the downside risks to the global outlook have increased, once again, in the past couple of months, it would require a significant worsening of the eurozone crisis or a much harder landing in China, most likely the two together, to push the global economy back into recession," IHS chief economist Nariman Behravesh said in a report.
Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average was down 1.7 percent at 8,347.34 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.7 percent to 18,776.61. South Korea's Kospi shed 1.3 percent to 1,770.14 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2 percent to 4,125.70. The Shanghai Composite slipped 0.3 percent to 2,141.14.
Asian technology shares were mixed after Apple Inc. surprised investors with a rare earnings disappointment after the closing bell on Wall Street.
Apple reported the smallest increases in revenue and income in years, badly missing analysts' expectations. Its sales were strong in terms of the numbers of iPads and iPhones sold but consumers were opting to buy the least expensive versions, slowing the company's revenue growth.
Samsung Electronics Co., which competes with Apple in smartphones and tablets, fell 0.9 percent while Japan's Sony Corp. was down 5.1 percent. Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp. added 0.5 percent.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average fell 104.14 points, or 0.8 percent, to end at 12,617.32 on Tuesday. It was the third triple-digit point loss in a row for the blue chip index.
In energy trading, benchmark crude for September delivery was down 41 cents at $88.09 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 36 cents to end Tuesday in New York at $88.50.
Among currencies, the dollar rose less than 0.1 percent to 78.15 yen. The euro was steady at $1.207.
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