News: RIO UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Dec 12

(Updates futures, adds news items in bullets 1-7)

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index .FTSE is expected to open higher on Tuesday, with futures FFIc1 up 0.19%.

• ASTRAZENECA: Drugmaker AstraZeneca AZN.L on Tuesday agreed to buy vaccine developer Icosavax ICVX.O in a deal valued at up to $1.1 billion.
• FCA: Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it was

  concerned

  about the amount of interest and fees charged by some investment platforms.

• OFWAT: Britain's water regulator said it has reached the next

  stage

  of its enforcement cases related to a probe into sewage treatment.

• UNILEVER: Britain's competition watchdog said it will

  scrutinise

  the environmental claims made by UK consumer good giant Unilever ULVR.L about certain household essential items.

• SHELL: Shell SHEL.L said on Monday it will

  sell

  its interests in two U.S. renewable energy projects in Texas and Ohio.

• BoE: The Bank of England said on Tuesday that

  implementing

  the final leg of the global Basel bank rules will increase capital requirements at UK banks by 3%.

• WAGES: British wages excluding bonuses

  rose

  by 7.3% in the three months to the end of October, official data showed.

• BP: BP PLC BP.L has challenged U.S. energy regulators' approvals of a Venture Global LNG liquefied natural gas export facility, according to a letter filed with FERC on Monday.
• HSBC: JPMorgan Chase JPM.N is set to outsource the operations of its local custody business in Hong Kong and Taiwan with Citigroup C.N , HSBC HSBA.L , and Standard Chartered STAN.L in the race for the mandate, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.
• OIL: Oil prices ticked up on Tuesday as investors played cautious ahead of key interest rate decisions and inflation data releases.
• For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:

  TODAY'S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines