US STOCKS-Futures flat as Washington deadlock continues

* Amazon wins court ruling in CIA (Milan: CIA.MI - news) contract dispute

* PHH exploring unit split - sources

* Futures: Dow flat, S&P off 0.2 pt, Nasdaq up 1 pt

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK, Oct (KOSDAQ: 039200.KQ - news) 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Tuesday as small signs of progress began to emerge in the fiscal standoff among politicians in Washington.

* With the partial government shutdown in its second week, and nine days until a decision must be reached to raise the nation's debt ceiling, President Barack Obama on Monday said he would accept a short-term increase in the nation's borrowing authority to avoid a default.

* In addition, a Senate aide said Republican Senator Rob Portman, an Ohioan influential on budget issues, was floating a plan to cut federal spending and reform the U.S. tax code as part of a broader deal to reopen shuttered government agencies and raise the government's debt ceiling.

* The government shutdown has led to a dearth of economic data releases, leaving investors to focus on the fledgling earnings season. After the close on Tuesday earnings are expected from former Dow component Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA - news) and KFC parent company Yum! Brands Inc.

* The longer the government shutdown continues, the greater the damage on the economy could be, increasing the probability the Federal Reserve will leave its economic stimulus measures in place.

* S&P 500 futures fell 0.2 point and were slightly below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI - news) industrial average futures were flat, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 1 point.

* PHH Corp is exploring splitting up its mortgage and auto fleet leasing businesses, and selling each of the units, three people familiar with the situation told Reuters on Monday.

* A U.S. court ruled in favor of Amazon.com Inc, which is locked in a dispute with International Business Machines over a $600 million cloud computing contract awarded by the Central Intelligence Agency, a court notice showed.

* U.S. fertilizer company Mosaic Co on Monday lowered its outlook for 2013 global potash shipments, citing weaker demand in India and a delay in settling a second-half contract between its export agency Canpotex Ltd and China's Sinofert Holdings Ltd (HKSE: 0297.HK - news) .

* European shares fell on Tuesday, with medical technology group Getinge (Other OTC: GNGBF - news) slumping after a profit warning, as the United States' budget stalemate weighed on stock markets.

* Asian shares rose as data showed China's services industry continued to expand, soothing to some extent nerves jarred by fears of a U.S. debt default as the U.S. government shutdown entered a second week.