Dec 16 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening up 22 points, or 0.4 percent higher on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers.
* The UK blue chip index was up 2.5 percent at 6,017.79 points at its close, after eight straight sessions of falls, with supermarkets, commodity stocks and firms with South African exposure among the companies rebounding from recent weakness.
* COPPER: London copper edged up on Wednesday from a one-week low hit in the previous session as investors covered short positions ahead of a widely anticipated interest rate hike in the United States.
* RIO TINTO: High-cost iron ore producers are "hanging on by their fingernails", Rio Tinto RIO.L Chief Executive Officer Sam Walsh said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Tuesday, as miners fight for survival in the face of falling metal prices amid a glut and weak demand.
* IMPERIAL TOBACCO: Imperial Tobacco Group IMT.L plans to drop "tobacco" from its name and call itself Imperial Brands, which is more in keeping with its business now, it said on Tuesday. Big tobacco companies have diversified into cigarette alternatives as the world smokes less due to growing health consciousness and regulation.
** BHP BILLITON: Iron ore miner BHP Billiton BLT.L is expected to cut capital spending again for its diminished United States oil and gas business, and is considering shutting down more rigs and further write-downs to the onshore division next month, The Sydney Morning Herald said. This news was published by other media houses as well.
** ROLLS-ROYCE: Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc RR.L will eliminate its aerospace and land and sea divisions, leading to the early departure of the divisions' respective heads, a spokesperson said on Tuesday, confirming a story in the Financial Times.
** DOMINO'S PIZZA GROUP: Britain's Domino's Pizza Group PLC DOM.L said on Tuesday it is forming a joint venture with Domino's Pizza Enterprises DMP.AX to buy Joey's Pizza for 45 million euros ($49.13 million), creating Germany's largest pizza delivery group.
** ASTRAZENECA: AstraZeneca AZN.L aims to build up its already strong position in China by making and developing more medicines locally, and will invest more than $800 million in the country over the next 10 years, it said on Wednesday.
** BUY-TO-LET MORTGAGE LENDERS: Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said in a Financial Times interview that the central bank will take action to regulate lending for mortgages used by landlords to buy properties.
** UK "CHALLENGER" BANKS: UK regulators will challenge any new international moves asking smaller banks to hold more capital against residential mortgage loans, the Prudential (L:PRU) Regulation Authority (PRA) said according to Sky News. Sky News said it obtained a letter sent on Tuesday by PRA's CEO Andrew Bailey to a group of smaller lenders, trying to reassure them about the effects of a consultation paper published by the Basel Committee last week.
* UK CORPORATE DIARY:
Work
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Dixons
Earnings Interim 2016 Dixons Carphone PLC Carphone
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Earnings Release PLC
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