UK Stocks-Factors to watch on January 15

Jan 15 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening higher on Thursday, with futures FFIc1 up 0.5%.

RIO TINTO: Rio Tinto RIO.L and BHP BHP.AX will work together to extract up to 200 million metric tons of iron ore in Australia's Pilbara region. Separately, an Australian Rio Tinto investor raised concerns over merits of the potential Glencore deal.

WIZZ AIR: CEO Jozsef Varadi has raised the budget carrier's WIZZ.L growth projection for this fiscal year, Bloomberg News reported.

OXFORD BIOMEDICA: Oxford Biomedica OXB.L received an unsolicited cash offer from funds managed by EQT EQTAB.ST.

HOME REIT: Britain's Serious Fraud Office arrested six people in an estimated 300 million-pound bribery and fraud investigation into the former management of the social housing group HOMEH.L.

HOUSING: Britain's housing market showed some signs of turning a corner last month as uncertainty about tax plans lifted and borrowing costs looked set to come down further, a survey showed.

COMMODITIES: Oil prices slid, copper prices pulled back from record highs, and gold slipped.

FTSE: Britain's FTSE 100 ended at a record high on Wednesday, buoyed by gains in miners and healthcare names.

EX-DIVS: Compass Group CPG.L and Diploma DPLM.L will trade without entitlement to its latest dividend pay-out on Thursday.

UK CORPORATE DIARY:

For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: LIVE/

TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times PRESS/FT
> Other business headlines PRESS/GB