U.S.

U.S. Stocks Join Global Retreat as Dell, Horton Shares Fall; Dollar Climbs U.S. stocks fell, joining a global retreat, as earnings at Dell Inc. and D.R. Horton Inc. trailed analysts’ estimates and concern grew that European Central Bank policy makers will phase out economic stimulus measures. The dollar rose and two-year Treasury note yields fell to the lowest level of the year as investors sought safer assets.

Rajaratnam's Request to Unseal Accuser Khan's Criminal Case Is Postponed 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.

Hershey's Controlling Trust Pushes $17 Billion Bid for Cadbury, WSJ Says 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.

Fed Makes Monitoring Capital Adequacy Foremost Concern Amid Talk of Bubble Federal Reserve officials are stepping up scrutiny of the biggest U.S. banks to ensure the lenders can withstand a reversal of soaring global-asset prices, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Dollar Strengthens as Equities Drop, Investors Buy Short-Term Treasuries 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.

Obama Says Exports Are Key to U.S. Job Creation, Were Focus of Asian Trip President Barack Obama said he focused much of his recent week-long trip to Asia on exploring ways to increase U.S. exports and thereby create jobs.

Latin America

Mexico GDP Fell Less-Than-Forecast 6.2% in the Third Quarter From Year Ago 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.

Argentina May Delay Defaulted Debt Swap Offer Until January, Boudou Says Argentina’s planned offer to swap as much as $20 billion of defaulted debt to help it re-enter international credit markets for the first time since 2001 may be delayed until January, Economy Minister Amado Boudou said.

El Salvador's Post-Downgrade Bond Sale Costs Two Points Over Panama Issue El Salvador paid two percentage points more than Panama in a sale of $800 million of bonds as the Central American country tapped debt markets less than a week after having its credit rating cut to junk.

Argentina Wheat Farmers Urge More Funds to Prevent Imminent Locust Plague Argentine wheat farmers in the biggest producing province are urging the government to boost funds to fight an imminent locust plague that threatens about a fourth of the country’s crop.

Chile Peso Volatility to Dive After Best World Gain, Societe Generale Says Societe Generale is recommending investors make bets that the Chilean peso will hover in a “narrow” range after central bank President Jose De Gregorio said he’s considering buying dollars to stem gains in the world’s top-performing currency.

Lloyd's Appeals Ruling on Legal Costs Tied to Colombian Drug Eradication 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.

Exclusive

Playboy Wants Partners to Make Brand Bigger Over Next Decade, Hefner Says 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.

Kindle, Sony Electronic Readers May Get Biggest Payoff From Textbook Sale 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.

Murdoch Targets Sulzberger as Newspaper Ad Slump Shifts Fight to Readers The New York Times and Wall Street Journal are pursuing readers from regional U.S. newspapers in their fight to survive the worst advertising declines in the industry’s history.

Cadbury's Carr Stared Down Goldman and RWE as Preparation for Kraft Duel Roger Carr, Cadbury Plc’s chairman, once thwarted Goldman Sachs Group Inc., then led by former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, from bidding for pub chain Mitchells & Butlers Plc in 2006.

China Banks Filling Syndicated Loan Void as Royal Bank, Citigroup Retreat Foster’s Group Ltd., Australia’s biggest brewer, never borrowed from China until this year, when Bank of China Ltd. helped arrange $500 million in loans to refinance debt.

Sell Japan Stocks, Buy Bonds as Loan Costs Climb: Chart of the Day Investors should sell Japanese stocks and buy government bonds as deepening deflation caused real interest rates to diverge from stock prices for the first time in 18 years, according to MU Investments Co.