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TOP STORIES

Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) to axe 6,500 jobs, cut spending to cope with lower oil prices

LONDON - Royal Dutch Shell (Xetra: R6C1.DE - news) is to axe 6,500 jobs this year and step up spending cuts to deal with an extended period of lower oil prices which contributed to a 37 percent drop in the oil and gas group's second-quarter profits. (SHELL-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 3), expect by 1030 GMT/6.30 AM ET, by Ron Bousso and Karolin Schaps, 560 words)

+ See also:

- ENI (NYSE: E - news) -RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 255 words

- REPSOL (Amsterdam: RP6.AS - news) -RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 255 words

- TECHNIP (Paris: FR0000131708 - news) -RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 325 words

U.S. 2nd-quarter GDP seen rebounding on consumer spending, housing

WASHINGTON - U.S. economic growth likely accelerated in the second quarter as a pick-up in consumer spending and housing offset the drag from trade and the energy sector, suggesting a steady momentum that could bring the Federal Reserve closer to hiking interest rates this year. (USA-ECONOMY/ (WRAPUP 1), moved, by Lucia Mutikani, 640 words)

+ See also:

- USA-FED/ (WRAPUP 3, PICTURE), moved, by Howard Schneider and Michael Flaherty, 525 words

Siemens (BSE: SIEMENS4.BO - news) exceeds expectations despite China weakness

FRANKFURT - German trains-to-turbines group Siemens beats expectations for its third-quarter results and sticks to its full-year outlook despite weakness in China. (SIEMENS-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 3), expect by 1030 GMT/6.30 AM ET, by Georgina Prodhan, 700 words)

Nokia (Swiss: 472672.SW - news) , Alcatel (Paris: FR0000130007 - news) -Lucent in health as merger approaches

PARIS/HELSINKI - Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in telecom network gear makers Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent jump after both post strong second-quarter results, comforting investors worried about their pending merger. (NOKIA-ALCATEL/RESULTS, expect by 1000 GMT/6.00 AM ET, by Leila Abboud and Jussi Rosendahl, 600 words)

+ See also:

- NOKIA-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1), moved, by Jussi Rosendahl, 270 words

- TELEFONICA (Amsterdam: TA6.AS - news) -RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 235 words

- BT-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 2), moving shortly, 350 words

INSIGHT

Failed FT bid shows Axel Springer caught between tradition and ambition

FRANKFURT/BERLIN - Axel Springer's failure to clinch a deal to buy the Financial Times lengthens a line of setbacks in a decade-old quest by Germany's biggest news publisher to expand abroad. (AXEL SPRNGR-M&A/ (INSIGHT, PIX), moving shortly, by Harro Ten Wolde and Klaus Lauer, 900 words words)

MARKETS

Dollar, bond yields rise on U.S. rate hike bets

LONDON - The dollar jumps and world stocks are left flat-footed after a relatively bright picture of the U.S. economy from the Federal Reserve boosted bets on a September rate hike from the central bank. (MARKETS-GLOBAL/ (WRAPUP 4), moving shortly, by Marc Jones, 680 words)

Gold falls to near 5-1/2-year low as dollar rises on Sept Fed hike view

MANILA - Gold falls more than 1 percent to near its weakest level since early 2010, as the dollar jumped ahead of U.S. economic data that is likely to strengthen expectations for an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve in September. (MARKETS-PRECIOUS/ (UPDATE 2), moved, by Manolo Serapio Jr, 430 words)

CHINA MONEY-What makes Chinese stocks tick? Answer: the money market

SHANGHAI - Chinese stock analysts find it difficult to identify a single clear reason for this week's sudden plunge in domestic share markets, but sometimes the simplest explanation is the best. (CHINA-MARKETS/MONEY (GRAPHIC), moved, by Nathaniel Taplin, 645 words)

ECONOMY

German unemployment posts biggest rise since May 2014

BERLIN - German unemployment unexpectedly rose in July and posted its biggest increase since May last year in a setback for domestic demand, which is expected to drive growth in Europe's largest economy this year. (GERMANY-UNEMPLOYMENT/ (UPDATE 1), moving shortly, 200 words)

Spanish economy picks up pace as election nears

MADRID - Spain's economy grew at its fastest quarterly pace in over eight years in the second quarter, underpinning projections for strong growth in the rest of the year that should generate jobs and repair some of the damage wrought by a prolonged crisis. (SPAIN-ECONOMY/ (UPDATE 2), moving shortly, 430 words)

Turkish c.bank sees inflation falling until September

ANKARA - Turkey's central bank governor says he expects inflation to continue falling until September and then to fluctuate until the end of the year. (TURKEY-ECONOMY/INFLATION-OUTLOOK, moved, 100 words)

Japan June factory output subdued, Q2 GDP contraction eyed

TOKYO - Japan's factory output rose modestly in June after a big drop in the prior month, highlighting worries of a second-quarter economic slump as exports weaken and manufacturers are saddled with large inventories. (JAPAN-ECONOMY/OUTPUT (UPDATE 2), moved, by Tetsushi Kajimoto, 395 words)

+ See also:

- JAPAN-ECONOMY/BOJ (UPDATE 3), moved, by Leika Kihara, 400 words

Swiss leading indicator hits 11-month high in July

ZURICH - Switzerland's leading economic indicator rebounded in July to an 11-month high from a 3-1/2-year low the previous month, the KOF research institute said on Thursday. (SWISS-ECONOMY/KOF, moved, 325 words)

COMPANIES

Deutsche Bank (Xetra: 514000 - news) warns of risks to new targets

FRANKFURT - Deutsche Bank warns that its new performance targets were at risk from heavy legal charges as it set aside 1.2 billion euros for fines and settlements and its new CEO cautions staff to brace for change. (DEUTSCHE BANK-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 2), expect by 1015 GMT/6.15 AM ET, by Thomas Atkins, 550 words)

Unexpected RBS profit boosts chance of early share sale

LONDON - State-owned Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS.L - news) (RBS) posts an unexpected profit in the second quarter, benefiting from write-backs on problem loans and boosting its stock ahead of an impending first sale of a chunk of the government's shares. (RBS-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 2), moved, by Matt Scuffham and Steve Slater, 540 words)

Spain's Santander posts strong rise in profits, revenues

MADRID - Santander, the euro zone's biggest bank by market value, reports an 18 percent rise in second-quarter net profit, helped by rising revenues in Britain and the United States, which countered a weaker home market. (SANTANDER-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 2), moving shortly, by Sarah White and Jesús Aguado, 500 words)

Samsung Electronics cautious on H2; capital returns disappoint

SEOUL - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd offers a downbeat outlook for the second half of the year as smartphone market growth slows and ahead of the expected release of new iPhones from arch rival Apple Inc (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) . (SAMSUNG ELEC-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 2), moved, by Se Young Lee, 445 words)

Centrica (LSE: CNA.L - news) to shed assets, staff, to focus on supply, services

LONDON - Britain's largest utility Centrica will sell up to 1 billion pounds worth of upstream and wind assets by 2017 and reduce net headcount by around 4,000 staff as it looks to put more emphasis on energy supply and services. (CENTRICA-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 230 words)

AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN - news) beats profit forecasts, helped by external deals

LONDON - AstraZeneca revenue fell by a smaller-than-expected 7 percent in the second quarter, as income from selling rights to medicines offset generic competition to older drugs and a strong dollar. (ASTRAZENECA-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 2), moved, by Ben Hirschler, 380 words)

+ See also:

- SANOFI (NasdaqGM: GCVRZ - news) -RESULTS/, moved, 100 words

European recovery lifts Renault (Swiss: RNO.SW - news) profit despite weaker pricing

PARIS - Renault says its first-half profit rose sharply as a European market recovery and currency windfall overcame pricing setbacks for older models, driving margins to a 10-year high. (RENAULT SA-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1), moved, by Laurence Frost, 350 words)

+ See also:

- MAZDA (BSE: MAZDALTD.BO - news) -RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1, PICTURE), moved, by Minami Funakoshi, 290 words

Diageo (LSE: DGE.L - news) signals turnaround after another flat year

LONDON - Diageo, the world's largest spirits company, signals a turnaround this year, following two years of flat sales due to issues including wholesaler destocking and discounting in vodka. (DIAGEO-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1), moved, by Martinne Geller, 355 words)

Swiss Re (Xetra: A1H81M - news) quarterly profit rises, misses expectations

ZURICH - Swiss Re, the world's second-largest reinsurer, says that second-quarter net profit rose 2 percent on fewer natural disasters in the period and a healthy return on its investment portfolio, but missed analyst expectations. (SWISS RE-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 230 words)

+ See also:

- GENERALI (Swiss: ASG.SW - news) -RESULTS/ (UPDATE 2), moving shortly, by Silvia Aloisi, 400 words

EDF (Paris: FR0010242511 - news) buys majority of Areva (Paris: FR0011027143 - news) reactor unit, seeks partners

PARIS - French state-controlled utility EDF is buying a majority stake in the reactor business of nuclear group Areva and will look for partners to take a minority stake. (AREVA-M&A/EDF (Hanover: E2F.HA - news) (UPDATE 2), moved, by Geert De Clercq, 410 words)

Delphi Automotive (NYSE: DLPH - news) to buy UK's HellermannTyton for about $1.67 bln

Delphi Automotive Plc says it will buy UK's HellermannTyton Group for about 1.07 billion pounds ($1.67 billion) to expand its electrical architecture business. (HELLERMANNTYTN-M&A/DELPHI AUTMTVE (UPDATE 2), moving shortly, 345 words)

Sony Q1 operating profit rises 39 percent, beats estimates

TOKYO - Sony Corp reports a 39 percent rise in quarterly profit on strong sales of camera sensors and PlayStation 4 videogames, beating analyst estimates and helping to reassure investors a recent stock offering would pay off. (SONY (Hanover: SON1.HA - news) -RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1, PICTURE), moved, 340 words)

Lufthansa sees challenging second half, fares still under pressure

BERLIN - German airline Lufthansa says it sees no let-up in the pressure on fares due to competition from low-cost rivals and it will be more challenging to improve earnings in the second half of the year than the first, when lower fuel costs boosted profits. (LUFTHANSA-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 3), moved, by Victoria Bryan, 445 words)

Thomas Cook (Xetra: A0MR3W - news) says Tunisia attack, Greece concerns to hit year profit

LONDON - Travel firm Thomas Cook says cancellations of holidays to Tunisia after a beach resort gun attack, along with concerns regarding Greece's potential exit from the euro, were expected to impact 2015 profit by about 25 million pounds ($39 million). (THOMAS COOK GRP (Swiss: TCG.SW - news) -RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 235 words)

Ahold-target Delhaize posts better-than-expected sales

BRUSSELS - Belgian grocer Delhaize, which Dutch rival Ahold plans to buy, posts better-than-expected sales in its main markets in the United States and Belgium in the second quarter. (DELHAIZE-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 195 words)

AccorHotels eyes higher 2015 profit despite Brazil, France woes

PARIS - AccorHotels SA, Europe's largest hotel group, predicts its operating profit will rise further this year as restructuring efforts continue to pay off and despite still challenging economic conditions in France and Brazil. (ACCOR (Paris: FR0000120404 - news) -RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1), moved, 255 words)

China's Baidu (Xetra: A0F5DE - news) to buy back $1 bln shares after investor selldown

BEIJING - Baidu Inc, China's biggest internet search engine company, says it will buy back shares worth $1 billion after the company's stock price slid following a weak earnings report earlier this week. (BAIDU-STOCKS/ (UPDATE 1), moved, by Paul Carsten, 235 words)

Chipmaker NXP posts 89 pct rise in Q2 net profit, flags weaker Q3

NXP, set to become Europe's largest chipmaker after buying U.S.-based Freescale, booked an 89 percent rise in second-quarter net income driven by strong sales of payment chips, but forecast weak third-quarter growth in its auto unit. (NXP-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 2), moved, by Eric Auchard, 400 words)