commodity news

• Italy forced to pay record rates

Italy is forced to pay record interest rates in a 10bn euro debt auction to borrow money for six months and for two years.
• Belgium credit rating downgraded

Belgium has its credit rating downgraded by ratings agency Standard & Poor's, on concerns about government debt.
• Hungarian debt downgraded to junk

Moody's cuts its rating of Hungarian government debt to junk status because of high debt and weak growth prospects.
• Rise of the fast-growing Civets

A host of investments are being launched targeting the world's fastest growing economies - the so-called Civets.
• Ex-Olympus boss praises meeting

The ex-boss of scandal-hit Japanese camera-maker Olympus says a meeting with the company's board was "constructive and honest".

• Investors Short HK Property Stocks on China Slowdown

Investors have turned bearish on Hong Kong’s property market, shorting stocks of real estate developers with fortunes closely linked to demand from mainland China.
• Australia Approves $11 Billion Foster's Sale to SABMiller


• Olympus Ex-CEO Says Willing But Not Begging to Return


• Nissan to Cut Japan Output If Yen Strength Persists: CEO


• Chow Tai Fook Seeks Up to $2.83 Billion in HK IPO

• Italian, Belgian Yields Rise; German Bunds Sell Off

Italian two-year government bond yields rose to new euro era highs above 8 percent on Friday after a weak sale of T-bills and zero coupon bonds and despite the European Central Bank buying debt in the secondary market.
• Greeks Drive Hard Bargain as Creditor Talks Start


• How European Banks Play Extend and Pretend Right Now


• Euro Zone May Free Banks From Taking Bond Losses


• Euro Rescue Fund’s Impact in Doubt

• Protesters dig in to keep pressure on Egypt army

CAIRO (Reuters) - Protesters demanding an end to army rule in Egypt sought on Saturday to build on momentum from a mass protest, bedding down in Cairo's Tahrir Square for a ninth day just two days before the first free parliamentary polls in living memory.
• Arab League prepares for Syria sanctions

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Arab officials will prepare plans for sanctions against Syria on Saturday over its failure to let Arab League monitors oversee an initiative aimed at ending a violent crackdown on protests against President Bashar al-Assad.
• Moderate Islamists claim Moroccan election win

RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco's Justice and Development Party (PJD) claimed victory on Saturday in a parliamentary election that should produce a stronger government after King Mohammed ceded some powers to prevent any spillover from Arab Spring uprisings.
• Mexican group asks ICC to probe president, officials

THE HAGUE/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican human rights activists want the International Criminal Court to investigate President Felipe Calderon, top officials and the country's most-wanted drug trafficker, accusing them of allowing subordinates to kill, torture and kidnap civilians.
• Libya leader, in Khartoum, thanks Sudan for weapons

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese weapons and ammunition sent through Egypt helped Libya's former rebels oust Muammar Gaddafi and take control of the North African country, the head of Libya's interim ruling council said on Friday.

general news

• Black Friday draws crowds, but spending in doubt

(Reuters) - Retailers were hoping for more shoppers like Shawn Elzia as the annual Black Friday bargain stampede marked the unofficial start of what is widely expected to be a middling holiday shopping season.
• Protesters dig in to keep pressure on Egypt army

CAIRO (Reuters) - Protesters demanding an end to army rule in Egypt sought on Saturday to build on momentum from a mass protest, bedding down in Cairo's Tahrir Square for a ninth day just two days before the first free parliamentary polls in living memory.
• AT&T to offer bigger asset sale to save T-Mobile deal: report

(Reuters) - AT&T Inc is considering an offer to divest a significantly larger portion of assets than it had initially expected, in order to salvage its $39 billion deal to buy T-Mobile USA, Bloomberg reported citing a person familiar with the plan.
• Bond market hammers Italy, Spain ponders outside help

ROME/MADRID (Reuters) - Italy's borrowing costs soared to their highest levels since Rome joined the euro on Friday, piling pressure on the newly installed government of Mario Monti at the end of a week in which the euro zone crisis tainted even safe haven Germany.
• Japan reconsiders boardroom rules amid Olympus scandal

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese government panel will propose mandatory appointments of outside directors on boards of large firms in the hope of averting the kind of accounting scandal that has engulfed Olympus Corp.

• Market Snapshot: U.S. stock market looks to domestic help

Uncertainty rules for equity investors fixated on Europe’s debt crisis and rising cost of insuring European government debt against default.
• NewsWatch: U.S. stocks end lower; Dow loses 4.8% on week

U.S. stocks finish lower, with the market’s three benchmarks indexes logging losses for the week as rising euro-zone bond yields continued to feed concerns over the region’s debt crisis.
• Slide Show: Scenes from retail’s Black Friday

An earlier-than-ever Black Friday kickoff lures eager shoppers to such U.S. chain stores as Target, Best Buy, Macy’s and Walmart, which, again, was the location of some of the big shopping day’s more bizarre incidents.
• The World's Next Great Investing Columnist: Final voting in our columnist contest

Voting ends Sunday at midnight Eastern in our World’s Next Great Investing Columnist contest, with six finalists vying for the title.
• John Dvorak's Second Opinion: AT&T’s $4 billion mess is of its own making

An ounce of humility or a hit of care about its public image might have been all it took to get the T-Mobile deal through, but, says John C. Dvorak, AT&T has displayed neither.

• Stronger Lure for Home Buyers

Home prices and mortgage rates have fallen so far that the monthly cost of owning a home is more affordable than at any point in the past 15 years and is less expensive than renting in a growing number of cities.
• Lincoln's Last-Known Check

A Huntington Bancshares employee recently uncovered a long-hidden trove of checks signed by presidents and other dignitaries. The story offers a glimpse of American history and the history of community-banking consolidation.
• No Year-End Stock Surge in Sight

The bullish December that stock investors often enjoy never met a sovereign-debt crisis like this.
• Investors Shop, Just Not for Stocks

Stocks declined, capping the Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst Thanksgiving week performance since markets began observing the holiday in 1942.
• GM's Volt Faces Scrutiny

Federal safety officials are investigating fire risk in General Motors' Chevrolet Volt after crash tests caused fires in two instances.

• S&P Downgrades Belgium to AA on Funding Pressures

S&P downgraded Belgium's credit rating to AA, citing funding and market risk pressures.
• BofA-Merrill Lynch: Euro Breakup Could Happen

Bank of America became the latest investment bank consider the once-unthinkable collapse of the euro, underscoring the investor fear.
• Wall Street Thrashed in Worst Week in 2 Months

Despite a sleepy performance on Friday, Wall Street was pounded by European debt fears in the worst week since September.
• Spain Mulling Outside Aid: Report

Spain's new government is reportedly considering applying for international aid as part of its plan to shore up its finances.
• Italian Borrowing Costs Surge

Italy paid a record 6.5% to borrow money over six months and its longer-term borrowing costs are spiking well above levels seen as sustainable.

• I braved Black Friday!

These determined shoppers braved the cold weather and long lines to nab some amazing deals on Black Friday.
• Another awful week for stocks. Thanks, Europe!

U.S. stocks ended lower Friday, logging the worst weekly losses in two months, as eurozone fears continued to weigh on investor sentiment.
• Feds open safety probe of Chevy Volt

Federal safety regulators announced Friday that they have opened "a formal safety defect investigation" into the Chevrolet Volt over concerns the electric car's battery may pose a significant fire risk.
• Cyber Monday outlook: big deals, record sales

Did you skip the lines on Black Friday? There's still Cyber Monday -- and analysts are expecting an abundance of deals to bring in record online sales this year.
• S&P downgrades Belgium

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded Belgium Friday as the sovereign debt crisis continues to spread across the continent.