Live Financial And Business News By SaneBull

GAZA (Reuters) - Israel pressed on with its ground offensive in the Gaza Strip for a fourth day on Tuesday despite new international calls for a ceasefire in a conflict in which more than 540 Palestinians have been killed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama has chosen former White House chief of staff Leon Panetta to lead the CIA, which has been widely criticized for harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects, Democratic officials said on Monday.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The legal battle over gay marriage in California turned on Monday to whether the state's top court could strike down a change in the state constitution that was approved by voters.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With the economic outlook darkening, U.S. President-elect Democrat Barack Obama went to Congress two weeks before taking office to try to entice Republican support for a massive stimulus package with talk of big tax cuts.

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Democrat Al Franken beat Republican incumbent Norm Coleman to win the U.S. Senate seat from Minnesota, officials conducting a final recount said on Monday, though the loser promised to challenge the result.

* China risks protest, riots as unemployment rises - report

* Caution before 3-year, 10-year bond auctions this week

Jan 6 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitionsand disposals involving European, U.S. and Asian companies werereported by 0400 GMT on Tuesday.

NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Prices of existing Manhattanapartments fell nearly 4 percent in the fourth quarter, tworeports showed, and analysts warned of much deeper declines incoming months in the wake of turmoil on Wall Street andfinancial sector layoffs.

SEOUL, Jan 6 (Reuters) - LG Electronics Inc , theworld's largest maker of home air conditioners, said on Tuesdayit was targetting a 10 percent increase in global air conditionersales in 2009 despite a worldwide economic downturn.

- Toyota plans to halt car production for 11 days becauseof falling demand

NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Bob McCann, head of brokerageat Merrill Lynch & Co, announced his plans to leave thesecurities firm, just days after its acquisition by Bank ofAmerica was completed.

HONG KONG, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank said onTuesday that its Chinese securities joint venture had wonregulatory approval from Beijing, becoming the latest Westerninstitution to gain accress to China's restrictive domesticcapital markets.

NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Bob McCann, head of brokerageat Merrill Lynch & Co, announced his plans to leave thesecurities firm, just days after its acquisition by Bank ofAmerica was completed.

TOKYO, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond futuresslumped on Tuesday, the first full trading day of this year, asinvestors took their cue from a rise in Tokyo shares and anovernight drop in U.S. Treasuries.

NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Prices of existing Manhattanapartments fell nearly 4 percent in the fourth quarter, tworeports showed, and analysts warned of much deeper declines incoming months in the wake of turmoil on Wall Street andfinancial sector layoffs.

WASHINGTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - With the economic outlookdarkening, U.S. President-elect Democrat Barack Obama went toCongress two weeks before taking office to try to enticeRepublican support for a massive stimulus package with talk ofbig tax cuts.

SANTIAGO, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Chilean President MichelleBachelet on Monday announced a $4 billion stimulus packageaimed at fending off global financial crisis by beefing uppublic spending on infrastructure and providing subsidies andtax rebates.

(For more stories on the financial crisis click [ID:nCRISIS])

Jan 5 (Reuters) - Following are U.S. sales and market shares of cars andlight trucks listed by auto groups and their wholly owned subsidiaries forDecember versus the same year-earlier month and for the year-to-date. Percentchanges are based on the daily sales rate. Makers Dec 2008 % Chng Share Yr Volume % Chng Share ------ -------- ------ ----- --------- ------ ----- GM-Group 221,209 -31.4 24.8 2,976,187 -23.1 22.6 Traditional 220,030 -31.2 24.7

CHICAGO, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The following chart representsU.S. light vehicle sales totals, individual automaker resultsand market share for the month of December 2008. Percentchanges are based on the daily sales rate.

Jan 5 (Reuters) - Following are Hyundai Motor Co Ltd U.S. sales of cars and light trucks in December 2008versus the same year-earlier month and for the year to date.

TORONTO, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Canadian auto sales tumbled 21percent in December from a year earlier, industry figuresshowed on Monday, as the worsening global economy undercutconsumer confidence and credit was harder to come by.

Jan 5 (Reuters) - Following are Mazda Motor Corp U.S. sales of cars and light trucks in December 2008versus the same year-earlier month and for the year to date.

CHICAGO, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The following are the 20 top-selling vehicles inthe U.S. through December of 2008 as reported by the automakers.

NEW YORK, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Staples Inc stock

slid 10.6 percent to $37.50 in after-hours trading

NEW YORK, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Shares of Hartford Financial

(Corrects in first paragraph to show shares fell instead ofrose)

NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Shares of FlextronicsInternational Ltd jumped 5 percent to $3.93 inafter-hours trading on Thursday after the contract electronicsmanufacturer posted second-quarter results.

NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Shares of Microsoft Corp rose 5.3 percent to $23.50 in extended trade onThursday after the software maker's quarterly earnings beat theaverage Wall Street estimate. For details see [ID:nWNAB1062]

NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Shares of Juniper Networks Inc rose 2.4 percent after the company postedthird-quarter results and expressed cautious optimism aboutnear-term opportunities.

NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Shares of Allstate Corp fell 7.1 percent to $26.23 in extended trade onWednesday after the insurer reported its quarterly results. Fordetails, see [ID:nWNAB0122]

NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Shares of Amazon.com fell 13.4 percent in extended trading on Wednesday after theonline retailer's fourth-quarter revenue expectations fellshort of analyst expectations.

NEW YORK, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Shares of iPhone-maker Apple rose 2.7 percent in after-hours trading on Tuesday,after reporting quarterly results.

Jan 6 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitionsand disposals involving European, U.S. and Asian companies werereported by 0400 GMT on Tuesday.

NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Bob McCann, head of brokerageat Merrill Lynch & Co, announced his plans to leave thesecurities firm, just days after its acquisition by Bank ofAmerica was completed.

NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Bob McCann, head of brokerageat Merrill Lynch & Co, announced his plans to leave thesecurities firm, just days after its acquisition by Bank ofAmerica was completed.

WASHINGTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Leading auto supplier VisteonCorp and U.S. pension insurers reached a $55 millionagreement to strengthen retirement accounts covering 5,300former employees, officials said on Monday.

NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Even in a city accustomed tonotorious figures in its midst, the latest sighting of BernardMadoff caused heads to turn.

HONG KONG, Jan 6 (Reuters) - GSR Ventures, a China partner ofU.S. venture capital specialist Mayfield Fund, said on Tuesdaythat it had raised $383 million for a new fund to focus oninvesting in Chinese technology companies.

Jan 5 (Reuters) - U.S. auto sales fell 35.5 percent inDecember from a year earlier, according to data from automanufacturers on Monday. The following are highlights from thelargest carmakers in the U.S. market.

TORONTO, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Canadian auto sales tumbled 21percent in December from a year earlier, industry figuresshowed on Monday, as the worsening global economy undercutconsumer confidence and credit was harder to come by.

BOSTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Affiliated Managers Group (AMG), a U.S. holding company for asset managers, has agreedwith smaller rival Harding Loevner LLC to postpone a deal toacquire it, citing tough markets.

BOSTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Hedge fund firm JD CapitalManagement LLC is liquidating a roughly $1 billion fund thatsuffered heavy losses recently, the company's founder said onMonday.

* China risks protest, riots as unemployment rises - report

* Caution before 3-year, 10-year bond auctions this week

Jan 6 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitionsand disposals involving European, U.S. and Asian companies werereported by 0400 GMT on Tuesday.

NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Prices of existing Manhattanapartments fell nearly 4 percent in the fourth quarter, tworeports showed, and analysts warned of much deeper declines incoming months in the wake of turmoil on Wall Street andfinancial sector layoffs.

TOKYO, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond futuresslumped on Tuesday, the first full trading day of this year, asinvestors took their cue from a rise in Tokyo shares and anovernight drop in U.S. Treasuries.

SEOUL, Jan 6 (Reuters) - South Korean opposition MPs who havehalted votes on economic reforms and a trade pact with the UnitedStates by physically blocking proceedings said on Tuesday theywould end a sit-in protest and pass less contentious measures.

WASHINGTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader HarryReid yielded to Republican threats and agreed on Monday not toimmediately seat fellow Democrat Al Franken, whose razor-closevictory in Minnesota faces legal challenges.

WASHINGTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - With the economic outlookdarkening, U.S. President-elect Democrat Barack Obama went toCongress two weeks before taking office to try to enticeRepublican support for a massive stimulus package with talk ofbig tax cuts.

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Democrat Al Franken beatRepublican incumbent Norm Coleman to win the U.S. Senate seatfrom Minnesota, officials conducting a final recount said onMonday, though the loser promised to challenge the result.

SANTIAGO, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Chilean President MichelleBachelet on Monday announced a $4 billion stimulus packageaimed at fending off global financial crisis by beefing uppublic spending on infrastructure and providing subsidies andtax rebates.

TOKYO, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Net outflows from Japaneseinvestment trusts tripled in December from the previous month onthe gloomy outlook for the global economy, which also curbedfresh inflows, industry data showed on Tuesday.

NEW YORK (Billboard) - With CD sales dropping fast, the music business is exploring nontraditional ways to expose consumers to recording artists. Among the new sales and marketing vehicles are Tara Leigh Music Party and musicShop.

TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar slipped against the yen on Tuesday, paring sharp gains made the previous day on expectations that a planned U.S. stimulus package would help the faltering economy.

- Toyota plans to halt car production for 11 days becauseof falling demand

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks edged up for a seventh day on Tuesday, boosted by hopes for a global economic recovery later in 2009, though the rising yen and falling high-yielding currencies suggested such optimism was limited.

TOKYO, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond futuresslumped on Tuesday, the first full trading day of this year, asinvestors took their cue from a rise in Tokyo shares and anovernight drop in U.S. Treasuries.

* Late-maturity US Treasuries slip further on supplyworries

CANBERRA, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Australia's military has experienced a surge in recruitment as the global financial crisis hits home and the government warns of higher joblessness, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Defence enlistment numbers jumped by almost 20 percent over the three months to December, easing a recruitment crisis that forced the navy to take an extended Christmas holiday, the Australian newspaper said.

"Over time, the Australian Defence Force could expect to rec

TOKYO, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Japan's Mitsubishi Materials Corp said on Tuesday that it had won a roughly 70 percenthike in copper processing fees for this year fromFreeport-McMoran Copper & Gold .

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.1 percent on Tuesday, the first full trading day of 2009, as Canon Inc and other exporters rose on a weaker yen and hopes for the U.S. administration taking office later this month.