World Business News Headlines for December 20, 2009

Hyundai Motor announces China truck venture

Hyundai Motor Co. said Sunday it has agreed to launch a $400 million truck manufacturing venture in China with a local partner as it seeks further inroads in the world's biggest auto...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:57 am

Asia spending again after financial meltdown

Laden with colourful bags full of gifts, Andy Xu makes his way through Hong Kong's jam-packed Causeway Bay shopping district apparently unfazed by the past year's global economic crisis.
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:56 am

Home of the Week update

John Lautner's Hatherall House

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am

Hollywood freelancer seeks strategies to make sporadic earnings last

Location manager Dale Dreher must figure out how to support his family and, a financial planner urges, build up an emergency fund despite long spells between work.

Like many people who work on the less-than-glamorous fringes of the entertainment business, Hollywood location manager Dale Dreher does really well some of the time.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am

Time to privatize the Postal Service?

The U.S. Mail covers everyone regardless of preexisting conditions (like living in the sticks), a public option that could disappear if contractors took over.

There's been a lot of talk about a public option for health insurance. But what about the public option for mail?

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am

The elderly need to beware of lenders--and relatives

Older Americans who seek reverse mortgages need family members and friends to help protect them from being exploited by lenders and even their children.

The recent conviction of a Long Island woman who stole the home of a 93-year-old retired barber suffering from Alzheimer's disease should serve as a warning to the friends and relatives of elderly people about the surprising ease with which some older homeowners can be exploited financially.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am

From guesthouse to grandeur

A Mediterranean-style home stands out in its Belmont Heights neighborhood of Long Beach.

Bruce and Patty Drown bought a quaint one-room guesthouse in the Belmont Heights neighborhood of Long Beach in 1982 for $50,000. The house was at the rear of a 6,350-square-foot lot, and had a yard extending to Granada Avenue.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am

One debit-card overdraft can trigger an avalanche

Many banks rack up fees by counting the biggest transactions first and enrolling customers in overdraft programs without their knowledge or consent. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am

Technology becomes friendlier to older generations

A growing array of products and services are made with seniors' needs and preferences in mind. She was the ultimate...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am

Time to privatize the Postal Service?

The U.S. Mail covers everyone regardless of preexisting conditions (like living in the sticks), a public option that could disappear if contractors took over. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am

Solid credit rating can crumble quickly

Using a lot of your available credit and applying for more are good ways to lower your score, regardless of your payment history. Dear...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am

Consumer agency could protect future home buyers and mortgage borrowers

Under legislation approved by the House, the agency would have broad powers to regulate risky loans and monitor real estate closing practices. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am

Home of the Week update

John Lautner's Hatherall House
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am

Hollywood freelancer seeks strategies to make sporadic earnings last

Location manager Dale Dreher must figure out how to support his family and, a financial planner urges, build up an emergency fund despite long spells between work. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am

The elderly need to beware of lenders--and relatives

Older Americans who seek reverse mortgages need family members and friends to help protect them from being exploited by lenders and even their children. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am

Solid credit rating can crumble quickly

Using a lot of your available credit and applying for more are good ways to lower your score, regardless of your payment history.

Dear Liz: I'm 28 and have had excellent credit since Day One. In May of this year, I leased a new car and found out my credit score was 780. In July I decided to lease a second vehicle. Instead of paying the leasing company monthly, I used a credit card balance transfer offer to write them a check for the entire two-year lease amount ($18,000). When I applied for two more credit cards in the following months, I was denied by both. I have never been late on any payments and always pay off my credit card debts (except for this balance transfer, on which I make monthly payments). Why was I denied credit? For a person with a great credit score, you can imagine how shocked I was.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am

Technology becomes friendlier to older generations

A growing array of products and services are made with seniors' needs and preferences in mind.

She was the ultimate all-American mom from the 1970s raising six kids on TV, but when it came to learning how to use her cellphone to send text messages, she avoided asking her own tech-savvy children.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am

One debit-card overdraft can trigger an avalanche

Many banks rack up fees by counting the biggest transactions first and enrolling customers in overdraft programs without their knowledge or consent.

One mistake could cost Trina Lee her Christmas.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am

Consumer agency could protect future home buyers and mortgage borrowers

Under legislation approved by the House, the agency would have broad powers to regulate risky loans and monitor real estate closing practices.

Had there been a federal watchdog consumer protection agency on duty during the early years of this decade, could it have prevented the housing boom and bust that put millions of homeowners into foreclosure and sucked trillions of dollars of equity wealth from just about everybody else?

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am

From guesthouse to grandeur

A Mediterranean-style home stands out in its Belmont Heights neighborhood of Long Beach. Bruce and Patty Drown...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 20 Dec 2009 | 1:00 am

Snowstorm causes deaths, disrupts travel, retail

A massive U.S. Northeast snowstorm set to dump nearly two feet of snow in some areas caused deaths on the highway, disrupted travel, and hurt what for retailers is one of their most important weekends of the year.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 20 Dec 2009 | 12:47 am

Gas pipeline a symbol of China's power: analysts

China has quietly rewritten the geopolitical landscape in Central Asia in recent years, breaking Russia's monopoly over the export of the region's e nergy resources also coveted by the...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 20 Dec 2009 | 12:24 am

S.Korea, China agree 400-million-dollar auto deal

South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor said on Sunday it and China's Baotou Bei Ben Heavy-Duty Truck had agreed to launch a 400-million-dollar joint venture in China next year. The...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Dec 2009 | 11:44 pm

Full repayment of Dubai debt still option: report

DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai, set to ask creditors for a standstill on restructuring some $22 billion in debt linked to troubled conglomerate Dubai World, may still repay lenders in full, a...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Dec 2009 | 11:21 pm

Full repayment of Dubai debt still option: report (Reuters)

Reuters - Dubai, set to ask creditors for a standstill on restructuring some $22 billion in debt linked to troubled conglomerate Dubai World , may still repay lenders in full, a local newspaper said on Sunday, citing unnamed sources.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 19 Dec 2009 | 11:21 pm

Full repayment of Dubai debt still option: report

DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai, set to ask creditors for a standstill on restructuring some $22 billion in debt linked to troubled conglomerate Dubai World, may still repay lenders in full, a local newspaper said on Sunday, citing unnamed sources.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 19 Dec 2009 | 11:21 pm

Ex-Soviet giants limp into 2010 with fragile recovery

Bloodied by the economic crisis, the three major economies of the former Soviet Union are finally turning the corner but recovery in 2010 is likely to be fragile and vulnerable to external...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Dec 2009 | 10:02 pm

New Macau leader to diversify economy from gaming

MACAU (Reuters) - Macau, heavily reliant on its gaming industry, plans to diversify its economy over the next five years into sectors such as logistics, its new leader Fernando Chui said on Sunday.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 19 Dec 2009 | 10:02 pm

Economic Preview: Economy picks up, but can it maintain pace?

Faster growth expected in December unlikely to be sustained in 2010, economists say.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Dec 2009 | 10:01 pm

New Macau leader to diversify economy from gaming

MACAU (Reuters) - Macau, heavily reliant on its gaming industry, plans to diversify its economy over the next five years into sectors such as logistics, its new leader Fernando Chui said on
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Dec 2009 | 9:57 pm

Productivity rises as workers do more with less

Employee output per hour rises 8.1% in the third quarter, the largest gain since 2003. But with people working harder in hopes of keeping their jobs, employers have less incentive to hire again. ...
Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 19 Dec 2009 | 8:30 pm

Wall Street hesitates in face of new economic realities (AFP)

AFP - Amid signs of a strengthening economy, stock investors have become more cautious in the face of a new landscape in which cheap credit may not be as abundant.

Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 19 Dec 2009 | 8:10 pm

UPDATE 2-US Senate health bill alters company taxes, profits

* No "Botax," tanning taxes to raise $2.7 billion (Adds industry reaction, paragraph 11, background)
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Dec 2009 | 7:06 pm

Globespan collapse inquiry call

A comprehensive investigation is needed into the collapse of the Flyglobespan airline, the finance secretary says.
Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 19 Dec 2009 | 6:12 pm

Hynix can spend $2 billion capex in 2010

SEOUL (Reuters) - World's No. 2 memory chip maker Hynix Semiconductor Inc is seen capable of spending a higher-than-expected 2.3 trillion won ($2 billion) in capital expenditures next year, its top shareholder KEB said on Sunday.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 19 Dec 2009 | 5:34 pm

Hynix can spend $2 billion capex in 2010

Hynix can spend $2 billion capex in 2010 (Reuters)

Reuters - World's No. 2 memory chip maker Hynix Semiconductor Inc is seen capable of spending a higher-than-expected 2.3 trillion won ($2 billion) in capital expenditures next year, its top shareholder KEB said on Sunday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 19 Dec 2009 | 5:34 pm

A sorcerer of the big screen

The man who brought 'Harry Potter' to Warner Bros. now has his own production company on the lot. His 'Sherlock Holmes' opens Christmas Day.

The gig : The 47-year-old Brit runs his own production company on the Warner Bros. lot. His most recent endeavors include the upcoming Christmas Day release "Sherlock Holmes," starring Robert Downey Jr.; this past summer's "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and its forthcoming sequels "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" parts I and II; and the computer-animated "Guardians of Ga'Hoole," directed by Zack Snyder of "300" fame.

Source: L.A. Times - Business | 19 Dec 2009 | 5:30 pm

Cinema ticket takings hit £1bn

Annual ticket sales at British cinemas will crash through the £1 billion mark for the first time thanks to a slew of blockbuster releases.

Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Dec 2009 | 5:01 pm

Shell plans £3bn sale in Nigeria

Royal Dutch Shell, the oil giant, has launched a shake-up of its controversial operations in Nigeria by offering oilfields valued at up to $5 billion ($£3.1 billion) for sale.

Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Dec 2009 | 5:01 pm

£193m write-off for radio group, Global Radio

Global Radio, the owner of Classic FM and Heart, has written off a chunk of the investment it made in the past two years to reflect the plunge in value of media assets.

Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Dec 2009 | 5:01 pm

Banks worldwide mull over Dubai bailout

Hundreds of bankers from all over the world will flood into Dubai tomorrow to meet high-level representatives of the struggling emirate and begin to establish what can be salvaged from the implosion of Dubai World, the government-controlled conglomerate.

Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Dec 2009 | 5:01 pm

Bad, but this year could have been a lot worse

We have all lived through a remarkable time. As we approach the end of 2009, we are also preparing to say goodbye to a year that will go down as the worst for the global economy and world trade since the second world war.

Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Dec 2009 | 5:01 pm

Formula One racing team, Williams chases debt from sponsor Hamleys

Williams, the Formula One racing team, is claiming £10m from the estate of one of Iceland’s collapsed banks in a row over a sponsorship deal with Hamleys toy shop.

Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Dec 2009 | 5:01 pm

The Andrew Davidson interview: Frits van Paasschen, chief executive of Starwood

There are two things to note about Frits van Paasschen, boss of Starwood, the world’s second-biggest hotel group by market value. First, he is clearly an optimist — why else would he be opening 90 hotels a year in the middle of the worst recession for decades?

Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Dec 2009 | 5:01 pm

Topshop on Harrods’ turf

Sir Philip Green has struck a deal with members of the Abu Dhabi royal family to open a huge Topshop store opposite Harrods in Knightsbridge.

Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Dec 2009 | 5:01 pm

Dentist chain, Oasis, finds backer in Capital Group

The investment firm Intermediate Capital Group is in talks to take a stake in Oasis, the dentist chain that runs a network of 170 practices. Duke Street, the buyout firm, has been looking for several months to attract a new investor into Oasis, which it acquired just over two years ago for £125m.

Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Dec 2009 | 5:01 pm

Agenda: Challenges that lie ahead are very real indeed

If you take the view — as I do — that next year will be very bumpy, take a look at the Bank of England’s last Financial Stability Report. Don’t read it on Christmas Day, it will spoil the party. The review is loaded with cautionary tales of asset bubbles, capital raisings, a dependency on financial support from the state and exposure to emerging markets.

Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 19 Dec 2009 | 5:01 pm

Storm threatens retailers' last holiday push (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. retailers' final weekend sales push before Christmas was under threat as a severe winter snowstorm struck the East Coast, forcing store closures and keeping shoppers at home on "Super Saturday."

Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 19 Dec 2009 | 4:53 pm

Obama raced clock, chaos, comedy for climate deal

It was almost unthinkable. The president of the United States walked into a meeting of fellow world leaders and there wasn't a chair for him, a sure sign he was not expected, maybe not even
Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 19 Dec 2009 | 4:20 pm

What people are splurging on

Peter and Rebecca Becerra spoiled themselves with a Welsh terrier puppy. Here's what 6 other readers are indulging on this holiday season.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Dec 2009 | 4:10 pm

Global warming's biggest jerks

In Copenhagen, rich nations want to force the developing world to cut greenhouse gases. Poor countries want money to do it. Who pollutes the most?
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Dec 2009 | 3:59 pm

Legal & General may leave over EU rules

One of the UK's oldest insurance companies is exploring the option of relocating its corporate headquarters abroad to avoid the impact of a new set of European regulatory measures.
Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 19 Dec 2009 | 3:50 pm

London Stock Exchange on cusp of Turquoise deal

London Stock Exchange is poised to announce it has finally agreed a deal to take control of Turquoise, the loss-making trading platform set up by the world's leading investment banks.
Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 19 Dec 2009 | 3:41 pm

EMI owner Hands injects millions to keep control

Terra Firma, headed by Guy Hands, is set to inject millions of pounds into the music group to avoid losing control to Citigroup.
Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 19 Dec 2009 | 3:35 pm

Foreign bankers start to flee UK bonus tax

Senior directors at international banks based in the City have received requests from US, French, Spanish and German staff for transfers back to their home countries or elsewhere overseas following Alistair Darling's announcement of a new banking bonus tax.
Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 19 Dec 2009 | 3:24 pm

Osmond recruits bankers for Horizon float

Serial entrepreneur Hugh Osmond has hired bankers Credit Suisse and Numis to float his Horizon investment vehicle in the first half of January.
Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 19 Dec 2009 | 3:22 pm

Moulton sets his sights on 50 companies for turnaround fund

Private equity entrepreneur Jon Moulton has targeted 50 companies for investment with his Better Capital turnaround fund.
Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 19 Dec 2009 | 3:18 pm

Citadel to file bankruptcy as soon as Sunday: report

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Citadel Broadcasting Corp, the third largest U.S. radio broadcaster, plans to file for bankruptcy as soon as Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 19 Dec 2009 | 3:18 pm

Citadel to file bankruptcy as soon as Sunday: report (Reuters)

Reuters - Citadel Broadcasting Corp , the third largest U.S. radio broadcaster, plans to file for bankruptcy as soon as Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 19 Dec 2009 | 3:18 pm

UK defence industry - top five players

Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 19 Dec 2009 | 3:05 pm

NewsWatch: Better economic times vie with rate hike prospects

Stock investiors in coming week will weigh more data showng growing recovery against inevitability that low Fed interest rates will dissipate as economy strengthens.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Dec 2009 | 3:05 pm

Defence spending pledge for Afghanistan to be tested

The Government's pledge to direct £900m of defence spending into better equipment for Afghanistan is to be tested when it announces the replacement for the Snatch Land Rover.
Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 19 Dec 2009 | 3:00 pm

High street sales will be flat in 2010, says John Lewis boss

The boss of John Lewis has warned 2010 will see flat sales and consumer uncertainty due to tax hikes and the general election.
Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 19 Dec 2009 | 2:45 pm

Copenhagen Summit: CBI attacks 'vague' agreement

Political leaders have come up with a "disappointing" and vague agreement on limiting climate change, according to the CBI.
Source: Finance and Business. Latest breaking news, stocks and shares from the UK and world | 19 Dec 2009 | 2:30 pm

US Democrats secure 60th vote on health bill

US Senate Democrats said they reached agreement on an abortion compromise with a crucial holdout, Senator Ben Nelson, in a deal that could clear the way for passage of a sweeping healthcare overhaul
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 19 Dec 2009 | 2:19 pm

Obama: Health-care compromise 'major step forward'

President praises Senate Democrats, says legislation will hold insurance industry accountable.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Dec 2009 | 1:12 pm

Democrats get crucial votes for health-care bill

Sixtieth vote in Senate means Democrats can block Republican attempts to delay passage.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Dec 2009 | 1:00 pm

Stocks to Watch: Stocks in focus for Monday

Among the companies whose shares are likely to see active trading Monday are ConAgra, Walgreen and Jabil Circuit.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Dec 2009 | 11:41 am

Senate OKs filing extension for jobless

Jobless Americans will soon get two more months to file for unemployment benefits and the COBRA health coverage subsidy, under a bill passed by the Senate early Saturday morning.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Dec 2009 | 11:37 am

Snowstorm slams Northeast flights, shopping

Blizzard expected to dump 20 inches on Washington, D.C.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Dec 2009 | 11:25 am

US east coast hammered by severe winter storm

Heavy snowfall blanketed the US East Coast, forcing airline cancellations in Washington and Baltimore and hampering holiday shoppers on the last weekend before Christmas
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 19 Dec 2009 | 10:57 am

U.S. opens probe of Diebold unit sale: report

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice and 14 states have opened investigations into the sale of Diebold Inc's voting machines business to Election Systems & Software that could lead to the unwinding of the September sale, the New York Post said on Saturday.

Source: Reuters: Business News | 19 Dec 2009 | 10:49 am

Renovating doesn't pay off like it used to

Home remodelers are getting less bang for their bucks. For the fourth straight year, renovation jobs have added less to resale values relative to their costs, according to an annual Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report released this week by the National Association of Realtors.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Dec 2009 | 10:24 am

Key holdouts back health care bill - CNN

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Dec 2009 | 10:14 am

NewsWatch: Better economic times vie with rate hike prospects

Stock investiors in coming week will weigh more data showng growing recovery against inevitability that low Fed interest rates will dissipate as economy strengthens.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Dec 2009 | 10:00 am

Can AT&& and Verizon Keep Raising Dividends Indefinitely? (T, VZ)

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) has done what we expected would occur at some point soon. Despite some bad company public relations Friday over its network, the company raised its quarterly dividend. The old $0.41 quarterly payout was raised by 2.6% to $0.42 per quarter. With a share price of $27.32, this comes to a yield [...]

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Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 19 Dec 2009 | 9:25 am

Let's import innovators

A five-foot robot sits in Jon Wheatley's chair during most U.S. investor presentations, listening, speaking, and watching the meeting as Wheatley maneuvers it from a laptop in London. The shtick draws attention to Wheatley and his company, social media Web site DailyBooth.com, but the robot (provided by one of his investors) serves a purpose: Wheatley cannot set foot in the United States.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Dec 2009 | 9:13 am

Wall Street bracing for a volatile week

Wall Street is in for a quiet three and a half days of trading this week with many market participants on vacation and traders mostly focused on defending this year's gains.
Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Dec 2009 | 9:07 am

Elite address club carries $3m price tag

Three million dollars plus is a lot to pay for a home during the uncertainty of a global recession and credit crunch. But that's what an elite number of homeowners did in Auckland during the past two years.Since January 2008,...
Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 19 Dec 2009 | 9:00 am

Oz, our pot of gold next door

As Australia's economic recovery strides ahead of ours, Kiwis wanting career opportunities and financial reward would be better off going there next year.Official statistics show that Australians enjoy incomes one-third higher...
Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 19 Dec 2009 | 9:00 am

All Blacks hit back at bottled water claims

Three top All Blacks have hit back over claims they short-changed former partners in a bottled water business.Richie McCaw, Dan Carter and Ali Williams have been accused of collecting business contacts from three associates in...
Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 19 Dec 2009 | 9:00 am

Martin Hawes : Extra paid on fixed rate is the price of certainty

For most of the past 15 years or so, fixing your mortgage interest rate has been a "no brainer". Fixed rates were such a good deal that you simply put as much as you could on a two or three-year term.However, the days of fixed...
Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 19 Dec 2009 | 9:00 am

Shortage to push up rent

An undersupply of housing is about to push up rents, a report says.BIS Shrapnel's latest analysis forecasts rents in New Zealand will mirror the rise of nearly 6 per cent predicted for Australia over the next three years."It's...
Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 19 Dec 2009 | 9:00 am

Frenetic festive spend up give retailers huge boost

New Zealand is heading towards Christmas at 340,000 purchases an hour.This screeching rate of Eftpos purchases - up 5 per cent on spending patterns last year - appeared to match the frantic and sometimes testy nature of our packed...
Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 19 Dec 2009 | 9:00 am

Headaches for TV3's boss

The Australian "hatchet man" hired to smooth out the kinks at TV3 and C4 has announced his arrival by sending Christmas presents to the competition.Ian Audsley, the former chief operating officer for Australia's Nine Network,...
Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 19 Dec 2009 | 9:00 am

Bernard Hickey : Political bomb could level tax landscape

A bomb is about to go off in the political and economic landscape. As you read this, visit open homes and go Christmas shopping, we are shifting towards a debate about the structure of our tax system and economy that could prove politically...
Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 19 Dec 2009 | 9:00 am

When gift ideas go wrong

Crafty consumers are making scenes in crowded shops to get cash refunds on unwanted Christmas presents.They're causing trouble to get around laws that mean retailers only have to offer money if an item is faulty or damaged - little...
Source: nzherald.co.nz - Business | 19 Dec 2009 | 9:00 am

US Senate approves $636bn military spending bill

The US Senate approved a $636bn military spending bill that funds the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and also includes money to extend jobless aid and Medicare payment rates for two months
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 19 Dec 2009 | 8:54 am

Oil Prices May Spike Monday, Nigeria Pipeline Attacked (CVX)(RDA.A)

Nigerian rebels have probably attacked pipeline installations near facilties operating by Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDA.A). This could cause the price of crude to rise at the end of the holiday. AP reports that “The violence has cut Nigeria’s oil production by about a million barrels a day, allowing Angola to surge ahead as Africa’s top [...]

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Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 19 Dec 2009 | 8:46 am

Karzai keeps US favourites in new cabinet

Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s president, has retained key technocrats in his nominations for a new cabinet that the US is counting on to deliver reforms in support of its expanded military effort against the Taliban
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 19 Dec 2009 | 7:38 am

Market Snapshot: Better economic times vie with rate hike prospects

Stock investiors in coming week will weigh more data showng growing recovery against inevitability that low Fed interest rates will dissipate as economy strengthens.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Dec 2009 | 7:20 am

Ashton's Beautiful Life

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Dec 2009 | 7:07 am

NewsWatch: Seven U.S. banks closed; 2009 failures at 140

Seven U.S. banks were closed by regulators on Friday, bring the total this year to 140 as the effects of the credit crisis continued to be felt across the country.

Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 19 Dec 2009 | 7:05 am

Three bullets and a MacBook - Video

Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 19 Dec 2009 | 7:04 am

Climate conference ends in discord

Deal struck by US, China, Brazil, India and South Africa not endorsed by all nations as Copenhagen conference ends with no binding agreement or clear direction for future talks.
Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 19 Dec 2009 | 6:34 am

Joining GM, Ford Will Make Early Debt Repayments

Light vehicles sales in the US do not seem to be improving much. The market for 2009 will probably produce about 10.5 million sales well down from over 16 million four years ago. Monthly comparisons from 2008 are still running negative for most car companies. It is a surprise that GM has started paying the federal [...]

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Source: 24/7 Wall St. | 19 Dec 2009 | 5:56 am

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