News: RIO UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Dec. 15

Dec 15 - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening lower on Thursday, with futures .FFIc1 down 0.10%.

• RIO TINTO: Rio Tinto (RIO) RIO.L CEO Jakob Stausholm said on Thursday that the miner had not given up on its Jadar lithium project in Serbia, after the country's prime minister ruled out a way forward for the project.
• TRADE UNIONS: A group of British trade unions has been given the go-ahead by London's High Court to bring a legal challenge against the government over regulations allowing companies to hire agency staff to fill in for striking workers, the Trade Unions Congress (TUC) said on Wednesday.
• NHS: National Health Service nurses in Britain will strike on Thursday in their first ever national walkout, as a bitter dispute with the government over pay ramps up pressure on already-stretched hospitals at one of the busiest times of year.
• BARCLAYS: Barclays BARC.L is exploring a return to Saudi Arabia in a bid to capture a slice of the country's burgeoning capital markets, two people close to the matter told Reuters.

  *OIL: Oil prices were largely unchanged in early Asian trade on Thursday as traders weighed optimism over China's demand outlook against the possibility of further interest rate hikes from global central banks.

• GOLD: Gold prices fell after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said more interest rate hikes would come next year.
• METALS: Copper prices fell after two straight sessions of gains, as easing COVID-19 curbs in top consumer China raised fears of an infection spike, weighing on the demand outlook.
• UK's main stock indexes closed lower on Wednesday as investors took little relief from softer-than-expected British inflation as they girded for another interest rate hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
• UK CORPORATE DIARY: Currys CURY.L HY Results Serco SRP.L Trading

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