Business News

U.S. stocks headed for a largely flat open Monday as investors awaited a report on home sales and looked to close a volatile and difficult year.

Investors found some reason to hope that Wall Street would in 2008 be able to put to rest some of its financial troubles. The U.K.'s Observer newspaper reported that Merrill Lynch & Co. was in talks over the weekend to line up capital from investors in China and the Middle East in exchange for portions of the Wall Street firm.

Merrill, like many other financial houses, has been troubled by misplaced bets on mortgages and is now holding assets it finds difficult to unload in a nervous credit market. Read more

“A piece of history has gone. Obviously a voice has gone”

The Cincinnati Post said goodbye with its final edition Monday _ its presses stilled after 126 years.

'_30_', a symbol traditionally used to signal the end of a dispatch, was the front-page headline in the last Cincinnati edition, about an hour before printing of its sister Kentucky Post marked the final run for the daily newspapers.

In a front page story about the closing, editor Mike Philipps said: 'It's a sad day, but we're going out with heads high. This paper made a difference in the community.' Read more

Pakistani stocks suffered their biggest one-day loss ever Monday, the first day of trading following last week's assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

The Karachi Stock Exchange's benchmark 100-share index plunged 694.92 points, or 4.7 percent, to 14,077.16 it's largest single-day loss in points and percentage. Three days of mourning had halted trading after Bhutto's assassination Thursday.

Atif Malik, an analyst at J.S. Global Securities, said shares could recover in coming days if opposition parties reach an accord parliamentary elections that had been set for Jan. 8. It is not yet known if the government will postpone the election. Read more

“We'll get used to it very quickly as we got used to them before from (British) sterling to the Maltese liras, now from the Maltese to the Euro”

EU newcomers Cyprus and Malta adopted the euro Tuesday, tying two tiny countries on the edge of Europe to its core institutions _ but raising consumer fears of higher prices.

The Mediterranean islands, both former British colonies, scrapped the Cyprus pound and Maltese lira to bring the number of countries using the shared currency to 15.

At midnight, Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos cut a new year's cake at the Finance Ministry, starting celebrations in the capital Nicosia. Malta was to officially welcome the euro an hour later at 2300 GMT. Read more

“We think the high number will be 26 million”

Millions of $40 government coupons become available Tuesday to help low-tech television owners buy special converter boxes for older TVs that might not work after the switch to digital broadcasting.

Beginning Feb. 18, 2009, anyone who does not own a digital set and still gets their programming via over-the-air antennas will no longer receive a picture.

That's the day the television industry completes its transition from old-style analog broadcasting to digital.

The converter boxes are expected to cost between $50 and $70 and will be available at most major electronics retail stores. Starting Tuesday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will begin accepting requests for two $40 coupons per household to be used toward the purchase of the boxes. Read more

“Inventory is still high and further reduction in prices may be required in some areas to induce buyers back into the market”

Sales of previously owned homes inched up in November but that didn't change the overall bleak picture for an ailing housing industry that has been suffering through a painful slump.

The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that sales of existing single-family homes, condominiums and townhouses rose 0.4 percent in November from October, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5 million units. Over the last 12 months, however, existing home sales have plunged 20 percent, underscoring the troubles in the housing sector. Read more

Oil prices edged up Monday amid continuing awareness of tighter U.S. inventories, recovering ground after a decline in the previous session on concerns about the U.S. economy.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery added 12 cents to $96.12 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by noon in Europe.

On the ICE future exchange in London, Brent crude was selling for $94.60 a barrel, up 72 cents.

The contract fell 62 cents to settle at $96 a barrel Friday after a report showed weak figures on new home sales in the United States. The data again raised fears about a possible economic slowdown in the world's largest consumer of oil products. Read more

“Mr. Zardari is not liked within the PPP”

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NAUDERO, Pakistan | The party of slain former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto tapped her 19-year-old son Sunday as its new chairman, preserving one of Asia's most enduring political dynasties, but it turned real power over to her husband, a one-time businessman dogged by corruption allegations.

The Pakistan People's Party also announced that it would contest national parliamentary elections called for Jan. 8. The elections are intended to transition the Islamic insurgency-torn nuclear power from more than eight years of military rule to a civilian democratic government. Read more

“The huge extra fiscal revenue reflects China's stable, rapid economic growth”

BEIJING : China's central bank will implement a tight monetary policy in 2008, using a range of tools to keep a check on liquidity, the central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, reaffirmed. via International Herald Tribune

“This is human error, and something that's completely avoidable, as opposed to a hacker breaking into your computer system.”

BOSTON : The loss or theft of personal data such as credit card and Social Security numbers soared to unprecedented levels in 2007, and the trend isn't expected to turn around anytime soon as hackers stay a ... via International Herald Tribune

“They don't have enough wood to feed their mills”

WHITESBURG, Kentucky : The crime scene - a once-wooded landscape marked by tire tracks and tree stumps - makes the victim, Verna Potter, feel physically violated. via International Herald Tribune

How many times have you heard that if you just cut out those lattes, you could eliminate your budget problems? That's basically bunk. via Chicago Tribune

States pressing for continued scrutiny of Microsoft Corp.'s business practices failed to support their argument with evidence, the software maker said in a court filing Friday.

Microsoft, which was found to be using its operating system dominance to quash other types of competing software, has operated since 2002 under the terms of an antitrust settlement struck with the federal government and 17 U.S. states.

Most of the consent decree, which said Microsoft must help rivals build software that runs smoothly with Windows, was set to expire in November. Read more

Dietary supplements marketed to provide male sexual enhancement contain undeclared erectile dysfunction drugs putting users at risk, the Food and Drug Administration warned Friday. via Chicago Tribune

“A timetable for obtaining universal suffrage has been set”

Beijing will allow Hong Kong to directly elect its leader by 2017 and all its lawmakers by 2020, the territory's chief executive said Saturday, immediately sparking criticism from democracy activists who sought ... via The Modesto Bee

“While the decision to close stores is difficult, it is necessary that we do so selectively in locations with declining sales and where we have been unable to identify sufficient growth opportunities.”

Macy's Inc. , the owner of its namesake chain and Bloomingdale's, said Friday that it would close stores deemed to have inadequate sales and eliminate 899 jobs. via New York Times

The 87-year-old founder of Comcast Corp.'s pay will keep going to his beneficiaries for five years after his death under a new agreement.

Ralph J. Roberts' new salary agreement takes effect on Jan. 1, according to a document the company filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The pact succeeds Roberts' current compensation deal, which expires next week.

Philadelphia-based Comcast said the new agreement, signed by both parties on Thursday, provides benefits comparable to what Roberts had under the existing deal. Read more

“They'll bury me with it, too. I was there to get the job done.”

Steven T. Florio, a hard-driving executive who worked his way up the publishing ladder to lead the Conde Nast magazine empire, has died at age 58.

Florio died Thursday at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia of complications from an earlier heart attack, said Maurie Perl, a spokeswoman for Conde Nast Publications.

Florio was president and chief executive of Conde Nast through 2004, expanding it to the second-biggest magazine publisher in the country while many others were cutting staff and costs. Read more

“The geopolitical background continues to unnerve a lot of people”

Soybean futures rose to their highest level in more than 30 years Friday as traders bet on robust exports next year and continued strong demand from China.

Gold prices also climbed, boosted by strong oil prices, weak economic data in the U.S., and geopolitical concerns following Thursday's assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

Other agricultural futures were mixed, while oil prices advanced.

U.S. exporters have already sold roughly three-quarters of the soybeans the Agriculture Department predicts for the whole marketing year, which ends in June 2008. To make up for dwindling inventories, analysts say farmers need to plant more soybeans than they did last year _ when an ethanol boom led farmers to favor planting corn acres over soybeans. Read more

“In a nutshell, if consumers don't feel good about the world or employment is slipping, they tend to delay major expenditures such as a new house or car, if possible”

DETROIT : Industry analysts are predicting a lackluster end to an already dismal year for automakers, likely the worst in nearly a decade. via International Herald Tribune