UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Tuesday Oct. 16

* Britain's FTSE 100 is seen opening up 30-32 points, or 0.5 percent on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers, tracking gains on Wall Street and in Asia on better-than-expected U.S. corporate results and macro data. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on

* The UK blue chip index closed 12.29 point, or 0.2 percent higher on Monday at 5,805.61 buoyed by gains for heavyweight banks as the sector tracked advances by continental peers on expectations Spain was moving closer to asking for a bailout, and after forecast-beating earnings from U.S. peer Citigroup.

* Investors will look to earnings on Tuesday from U.S. bellwethers such as Goldman Sachs, IBM and Intel for further clues to the impact of the global slowdown on corporate results.

* RIO TINTO - The world's no. 2 iron ore producer, maintained its 2012 production guidance at 250 million tonnes, saying its operations were performing strongly despite a volatile market caused by China's uncertain economic outlook.

* ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND - The bank will get the go-ahead this week from government and regulators to exit the state-backed insurance scheme covering its old "toxic assets", in an early step towards reprivatisation, the Financial Times reported.

Also, the part state-backed lender's plans to sell its American business have been derailed by a U.S. investigation into allegations it laundered money for rogue nations such as Iran, according to the Daily Mail.

BP - The oil major is the subject of persistent rumours in the darker corners of the city with conspiracy theorists whispering in hushed tones of a potential carve up of the company between french firm Total and UK peer Royal Dutch Shell, according to the Daily Mail market report.

* BUMI - Financier Nat Rothschild has resigned from the board of the coal mining group he co-founded two years ago, attacking his partners and directors as they consider unravelling the Indonesian venture.

* The latest British consumer and wholesale price inflation numbers will be released at 0830 GMT. A monthly increase of 0.4 percent is forecast in CPI for September, giving an annualised rate of 2.2 percent, down from 2.5 percent in August.

PPI output prices for September are seen up 2.2 percent year-on-year, unchanged from August's rise, with PPI input prices seen falling 0.8 percent year-on-year, after a 1.4 percent gain in the previous month.

* U.S. consumer inflation numbers will also be released on Tuesday, at 1230 GMT, with September headline CPI seen up 1.9 percent year-on-year, following a 1.7 percent rise in August.

U.S. industrial output and capacity utilization numbers for September are scheduled for 1315 GMT, and the October U.S. NAHB housing index will be released at 1400 GMT.

* UK CORPORATE DIARY:

GKN issues a third-quarter trading update.

PETROPAVLOVSK issues a trading update.

BELLWAY posts full-year results.

N BROWN GROUP reports first-half results.

CARPETRIGHT issues a trading update.

EPISTEM HOLDINGS reveals full-year results.

RECORD issues a trading update.

SMITHS NEWS delivers full-year results.

SPIRIT PUB CO unveils full-year results.

TODAY'S UK PAPERS

> Financial Times

> Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit* BridgeStation: view story .134(Reporting by Jon Hopkins)