commodity news

• Recession 'to return' to Europe

Most economists polled by the BBC say recession will return to Europe next year, while UK interest rates will stay at 0.5%.
• Monti: 'Unite to save eurozone'

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti calls for a 'united response' to the eurozone debt crisis as he outlines plan to get Italy out of recession.
• D Telekom settles bribery charges

Deutsche Telekom and its Magyar Telekom arm agree to pay $95m to settle charges they paid bribes in Macedonia and Montenegro.
• China 'to withdraw' car support

China says it will withdraw support for foreign investment in the country's car industry to help domestic carmakers, according to state media.
• Hungary abandons new debt auction

The Hungarian government has abandoned part of a planned bond auction and seen interest on the debt it did issue rise.

• Japan Manufacturing Activity Rebounds in December

Japanese manufacturing activity expanded in December for the first time in two months  as output and export orders fell at a slower pace, a survey showed on Friday, in a tentative sign that demand could be stabilizing.
• South Korea Industrial Output Falls in November


• Japan, India Agree to Set Up $15 Billion Swap Line


• Samoa to Skip Friday, Lose Dec. 30, 2011 Forever


• North Korea Hails Nuclear, Military Feats of Kim Jong il

• Strait of Hormuz Blockade: Not as Easy as Iran May Think

Iran's navy chief boasts that closing the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic would be "easier than drinking a glass of water." Hardly, U.S. analysts say.
• Italian Bond Auction: 10-Year Yield Dips Below 7%


• Record Use Made of ECB Deposit Facility


• Belgium to Investigate Beer Price Increases


• UK's Cameron Favors Minimum Alcohol Price: Report

• Syrians plan Friday protests as monitors visit

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Opposition activists urged people to take to the streets on Friday, the main day of protest in the revolts that have swept the Arab world, to convince Arab League peace monitors to pay attention to their plight.
• U.S. mulls transfer of Taliban prisoner in perilous peace bid

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is considering transferring to Afghan custody a senior Taliban official suspected of major human rights abuses as part of a long-shot bid to improve the prospects of a peace deal in Afghanistan, Reuters has learned.
• Turkey acknowledges killing civilians in Iraq strike

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish warplanes killed 35 civilian smugglers in northern Iraq after mistaking them for Kurdish militants, Ankara's ruling party said on Thursday, promising not to allow a cover-up of an incident that threatens to wreck relations with minority Kurds.
• Egypt police raid U.S.-backed pro-democracy groups

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian prosecutors and police raided offices of 17 pro-democracy and human rights groups on Thursday - drawing criticism from the United States which hinted it could review its $1.3 billion in annual military aid.
• U.S., South Korean defense chiefs discuss regional stability

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and his South Korean counterpart discussed the stability of the Korean peninsula on Thursday, the day after North Korea mourned the death of its long-time leader Kim Jong-il.

general news

• Economy gaining momentum, housing shows a pulse

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New U.S. claims for jobless benefits rose last week but the underlying trend pointed to an improving labor market, while regional factory data showed the economy gaining momentum as the year ended.
• U.S. mulls transfer of Taliban prisoner in perilous peace bid

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is considering transferring to Afghan custody a senior Taliban official suspected of major human rights abuses as part of a long-shot bid to improve the prospects of a peace deal in Afghanistan, Reuters has learned.
• New details emerge on flap between HP, Hurd

(Reuters) - Former Hewlett Packard CEO Mark Hurd made romantic advances over several years toward an independent contractor who later accused him of sexual harassment, according to a letter from her lawyer obtained by Reuters.
• Appeals court revives Countrywide homeowner case

(Reuters) - A week after settling a landmark federal discrimination case, Bank of America Corp's Countrywide unit was ordered to face a lawsuit by a Hispanic couple who said it applied excessive pressure to refinance their home on terms they did not accept and could not afford.
• Insight: Breast implant scandal shows regulators in dark on risk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Long before the latest global breast implant scare, American health officials were toying with the idea of building a registry that would track patients with implants.

• Asia Markets: Asia stocks mostly higher ahead of China data

Asia markets rise, tracking U.S. stocks higher after upbeat jobs and housing data buoy sentiment, while investors await China manufacturing data due out later in the day.
• After Hours: AMR falls after hours on delisting news

AMR shares fall further into penny-stock territory as NYSE says it will delist the bankrupt American Airlines parent.
• Canadian Markets: Canadian mining stocks show signs of rebound

Most Canadian mining stocks closed higher Thursday, after a sell-off on Wednesday triggered by a continued dip in the prices of certain metals.
• NewsWatch: U.S. stocks rise; sentiment bolstered by data

U.S. stocks rise Thursday, recovering much of the prior day’s losses, after Italian bond auction and U.S. data offers hope for the labor market.
• Energy Stocks: Total tops ‘Big Oil’ gains in energy sector

Investors gravitate toward the relative safety of big, multinational oil producers as they position themselves for 2012.

• Verizon Outages, New Fee Irk Customers

Verizon is planning a $2 fee for customers paying bills by phone and online. The company also said its engineers fixed the month's third outage of its 4G network.
• Italy's Borrowing Costs Slip, But Still Near 7%

Italy's funding costs eased from the euro-era high levels seen at the previous tender a month ago, benefiting from improved confidence in the past few sessions.
• U.S. Stocks Rise

Stocks gained and gold fell in 2011's second-to-last trading session, as investors were heartened by upbeat economic data.
• New Brazil Boom: Collecting Debts

As the volume of loans has increased in Brazil, so, too, have bad loans. That has meant plenty of new opportunities for debt collection.
• Data Suggest Recovery Gaining Steam

Fewer Americans are filing new claims for jobless benefits than at any time since the end of the recession, the latest signal that the U.S. economy is ending a year of uncertainty on a positive note.

• Wall Street Posts Comeback Rally as Traders Cheer Data

The blue chips zoomed higher on Thursday, reversing the previous session's slide, as traders cheered a round of encouraging data on the U.S. economy.
• Greek Official: Bond-Swap Deal Coming Soon

A government official said Greece could soon reach a bond-swap deal with banks and private creditors that would keep the country from a costly default.
• Financials Lead Wall Street's Rebound

The markets charged higher on Thursday, led by financial companies, after a round of encouraging data on the U.S. economy helped to lift traders' sentiment.
• Report: Alibaba Taps U.S. Lobbyists as it Looks at Yahoo!

Alibaba has reportedly hired a Washington lobbying firm in what may be a sign that the Chinese-based e-commerce company is mulling a bid for all of Yahoo.
• Italian Borrowing Costs Moderate, Remain Elevated

Italian borrowing costs fell from recent record highs at an auction on Thursday, but cautious investors still demanded near 7% yield to buy 10-year bonds, a level seen by many analysts as unsustainable. 

• 'I WANT MY TWO DOLLARS!'

Verizon Wireless will soon make some customers pay for the privilege of paying their bills.
• Dow up 130 points, S&P back in black

U.S. stocks rose Thursday in a thinly traded session as investors focused on signs of strength in the economy before calling it a year.
• Is Verizon still 'most reliable?'

Verizon Wireless' 4G network suffered its third nationwide outage in as many weeks on Wednesday, calling into question whether Verizon can continue to live up to its branding as "America's most reliable network."
• Sears releases partial list of store closings

Sears Holdings has released a partial list of the Sears and Kmart stores set to close as a result of the company's poor sales this holiday season. Sears said earlier this week that it planned to close between 100 and 120 stores at an unspecified time in the near future. On Thursday, the firm released a list of 79 that are set to be shuttered nationwide. Sears said in a statement that it could not provide an estimate of the job losses coming as a result of these closures because employment "varies by store and format." The dates on which the stores will close have yet to be announced.
• Euro falls to 17-month low

Selling pressure pushed the euro to its lowest level since mid-2010, and the currency could go even lower early next year.