Aug 14 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is expected to open 21 points higher at 7,272 on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers.
* GLENCORE: Global commodity miner and trader Glencore on Wednesday lost its case to stop Australian tax authorities using business information that was leaked as part of the so-called Paradise Papers. The ruling potentially opens the door for Glencore to receive a backdated tax bill.
* RYANAIR: Ryanair's directly employed pilots in Ireland agreed to attend mediated talks starting on Wednesday to avert a strike their trade union said would go ahead next week if the airline does not properly address a pay claim.
* OIL: Oil prices fell on Wednesday on disappointing economic data from China and a rise in U.S. crude inventories, erasing some of the sharp gains in the previous session on signs of an easing in Sino-U.S. trade tensions.
* GOLD: Gold steadied on Wednesday, consolidating around the key $1,500 level, buoyed by uncertainty around political risks such as the unrest in Hong Kong amid global growth concerns, while a slight easing of the Sino-U.S. trade tensions kept prices in check.
* UK's FTSE 100 ended 0.3% higher on Tuesday, reversing earlier losses, after the United States said it would delay tariffs on some Chinese products, offering respite to investors who had been gripped with fears over the trade dispute.
* UK CORPORATE DIARY:
Hochschild Mining PLC Half Year Earnings Release Avast PLC Half Year Earnings Release Prudential PLC Half Year Earnings Release Indigovision Group PLC Half Year Earnings Release Lookers PLC Half Year Earnings Release CLS Holdings PLC Half Year Earnings Release Balfour Beatty PLC Half Year Earnings Release Admiral Group PLC Half Year Earnings Release Bank of Georgia Group PLC Half Year Earnings Release
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times
> Other business headlines (Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru)