More Breaking News
China Coal-Mine Explosion Kills 31 People, Traps More (Update1) A coal-mine explosion in the
northeastern Chinese province of Heilongjiang has killed 31
miners and trapped 82, the State Administration of Work Safety
said on its Web site.
Dollar Strengthens as Equities Drop, Short-Term Treasuries Rise The dollar rose against most of its
major counterparts and posted its first weekly gain versus the
euro in November as investors sold shares and bought short-term
Treasuries to guard against losses before year-end.
Rajaratnam’s Request to Unseal Khan’s Criminal Case Is Delayed A court hearing to determine whether
a 2001 criminal case against the chief accuser of Galleon Group
founder Raj Rajaratnam will be unsealed was delayed for two
weeks.
Advanta Ventures, Credit Card Issuer’s Unit, Files Bankruptcy Advanta Ventures Inc., a unit of
bankrupt small business credit-card issuer Advanta Corp., filed
for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection along with Advanta units
BizEquity Corp. and Ideablob Corp.
Station Casinos Judge Says Bankruptcy Examiner Isn’t Needed Station Casinos Inc. doesn’t need an
examiner to investigate how the company is handling its
bankruptcy, the judge overseeing the case said, rejecting part
of the takeover strategy pursued by Boyd Gaming Corp.
Ex-State Department Official, Wife Plead Guilty to Cuba Spying A former U.S. State Department
official and his wife pleaded guilty to charges they provided
classified information about U.S. national defense to the
Republic of Cuba for three decades.
N.Y. Giants, Jets Must Defend Suit Over Stadium Seat Licenses The New York Giants and Jets must
defend a breach-of-contract claim by a fan forced to buy
personal seat licenses to finance a new $1.6 billion stadium, a
judge ruled in also throwing out three related claims.
Ruhl’s Flighty ‘Vibrator Play’ Lives Up to the Buzz: John Simon Wonders will never cease. Sarah
Ruhl, whose previous work I execrated, has written a smart,
charming, iridescently funny-serious jewel, “In the Next Room
or The Vibrator Play.”
Recession Is Boon of Sorts for Washington’s Homeless Newspaper The bustling restaurants and shops
of downtown Washington provide little indication of the
recession gripping the U.S. Those signs abound on the sidewalks
of the nation’s capital, where a growing army of the homeless
tries to stay afloat by hawking the newspaper Street Sense.
Lockheed Martin F-35 Fighter May Need More Money, Analyst Says The development phase for Lockheed
Martin Corp.’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet may require several
hundred million more dollars in the next fiscal year to
accelerate testing, according to an analyst.
Reid, Democrats Face First Big Senate Test on Health-Care Bill Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
tonight faces the first big test of whether he can keep his
Democratic colleagues united behind health-care legislation.
Upper-Bracket Tax May Be Needed for Afghan War Cost, Levin Says Higher-income Americans should be
taxed to pay for more troops sent to Afghanistan and NATO should
provide half of the new soldiers, said Carl Levin, chairman of
the Senate Armed Services Committee.
‘Twilight’ Heroine Woos Werewolf; Homeless Football Star: Film Poor Bella Swan. The heroine of
Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series can’t catch a break with
her favorite monster men.
Beer-Brewing Women, Soused Workers Built Pyramids: Lewis Lapham “The mouth of a perfectly contented
man is filled with beer,” according to the ancient Egyptians,
and on that basis it was a happy society.
Treasury Two-Year Note Yields Drop to Year Low on Risk Reversal Treasury two-year note yields fell
to the lowest level this year on concern the rally in risk
assets has outpaced growth prospects and as Federal Reserve
officials signaled interest rates will remain near zero.
Lloyd’s Appeals Ruling on Colombian Drug Eradication Liability Lloyd’s of London underwriters
appealed a Delaware court’s ruling that assigned them liability
for legal costs tied to more than 3,000 people seeking damages
from a U.S.-sponsored plan to eradicate drugs in Colombia.
Hershey Trust Pushes $17 Billion Offer for Cadbury, WSJ Reports Hershey Co.’s controlling trust
wants the candy company to make a $17 billion bid for British
confectioner Cadbury Plc, the Wall Street Journal reported,
citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.
FAA Issues Icing Rule After Circuit City Plane Crash in 2005 The Federal Aviation Administration
is proposing a rule that would require quicker activation of
wing de-icing systems in response to the crash of a Circuit City
Stores Inc. business jet in 2005.
Sands China Raises $2.5 Billion in Hong Kong IPO (Update2) Sands China Ltd. and its parent Las
Vegas Sands Corp., the casino company controlled by billionaire
Sheldon Adelson, raised HK$19.4 billion ($2.5 billion) in a Hong
Kong share sale conducted at the low end of the offered range.
Mutated Swine Flu Strains Block Drugs, Worsen Illness (Update2) Swine flu infections in which the
virus mutated to a form that’s more severe or less sensitive to
drug treatment are being investigated by European and U.S.
public health officials.
Playboy Brand Must Expand, Former Chief Hefner Says (Update1) Playboy Enterprises Inc. needs to
make strategic decisions to expand the men’s magazine publisher
in the coming decade, according to former Chief Executive
Officer Christie Hefner.
Five Crowns Recalls Cantaloupes on Possible Salmonella, FDA Says Five Crowns Marketing of Brawley,
California, reported a voluntary recall of cantaloupes packed
under the Majesty label because of possible Salmonella
contamination, the U.S. FDA said on its Web site.
Kindle, Sony May Get Biggest Payoff From Textbooks (Update3) As Sony Corp.’s e-book devices vie
with the Kindle to win over readers, the real showdown may come
later: when a shift to electronic textbooks at schools threatens
to eclipse the current market for the products.
Dow Corning Sues Merrill Over $166 Million ARS Loss (Update2) Dow Corning Corp., the world’s
biggest silicone supplier, and two affiliated companies sued
Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch & Co. for falsely
representing the safety and liquidity of $166 million in
auction-rate securities that the companies can’t sell.
Senator Vows to Block Removal of Fed’s Audit Shield (Update1) A U.S. senator said he would seek to
block any legislation containing a measure to remove the Federal
Reserve’s shield from congressional audits of the central bank’s
interest-rate decisions.
California Was Among States With Record Unemployment (Update3) California, Delaware, South Carolina
and Florida registered record rates of unemployment in October
as weakness in the labor market stretches from coast to coast
and limits the economic recovery.
Twitter Sales Top $4 Million; Ad Business Planned (Update2) Twitter Inc., the social-networking
company valued at $1 billion by venture capitalists, said it is
generating sales of more than $4 million a year and plans to
build on that revenue with advertising.
Senate Panels to Probe Failure to Share Hasan E-Mails (Update1) Leaders of the Senate’s defense and
homeland security committees said they plan to investigate why a
terrorism task force led by the FBI didn’t tell the Pentagon
about e-mail exchanges between Fort Hood shooting suspect Nidal
Malik Hasan and extremist religious leader Anwar al-Awlaki.
Asian Stocks Post Biggest Drop in Three Weeks on Japan Concerns Asian stocks fell this week,
dragging the MSCI Asia Pacific Index to its biggest weekly
decline in three amid Japanese share sales, while companies
including Sony Corp. fueled profit concerns.
Morgan Stanley Hands Off Crescent to Barclays Venture (Update1) Morgan Stanley agreed to hand over a
real-estate business acquired in 2007 to Barclays Capital,
ending the New York firm’s obligation on a $2 billion loan after
taking almost $1 billion in losses.
UPS to Raise 2010 Ground Rate by 4.9%, Less Than 2009 (Update1) United Parcel Service Inc. will
increase ground-shipment rates in 2010 by 4.9 percent, less than
this year, amid a drop in volumes at the world’s largest
package-delivery company.
Royal Bank of Scotland Sells $7 Billion of Debt (Update1) Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, sold $7
billion of debt due in March 2012, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg, equaling the largest U.S. corporate sale since May.
Mexico GDP Fell Less Than Forecast in Third Quarter (Update3) Mexico’s economy contracted less
than analysts forecast in the third quarter and expanded from
the previous three months, signaling an end to the recession.