Live Financial And Business News By SaneBull

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.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors asked a judge to jail accused swindler Bernard Madoff on Monday, saying he sent jewelry and other items worth more than $1 million to family and friends in violation of his bail.

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli troops backed by air strikes fought to seize ground from Hamas militants deep inside the Gaza Strip on Monday despite international calls for a ceasefire in a conflict that has killed more than 540 Palestinians in 10 days.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Three Israeli soldiers were killed and about 20 were wounded by an Israeli tank shell fired in error during fighting in the Gaza Strip, the military said on Tuesday.

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.

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 compared with 2008in talks with Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold .

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 compared with 2008in talks with Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold .

TOKYO, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), Japan's biggest utility, plans to request approval toconduct a test run of its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa No.7 nucleargenerator, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Tuesday.

TOKYO, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose1.1 percent on Tuesday, the first full trading day of 2009, asCanon Inc and other exporters rose on a weaker yen amidhopes for the new U.S. administration taking office later thismonth.

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.

CHICAGO, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The Chicago Board of Traderequested approval from its regulator, the Commodity FuturesTrading Commission, to limit the number of grain shippingcertificates and warehouse receipts that a non-grain firm canhold, an exchange advisory said on Monday.

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.

SHANGHAI, Jan 6 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp saidon Tuesday its China vehicle sales including joint ventures rose6.1 percent in 2008 to 1.09 million vehicles, marking a slowdownin growth as the economic downturn hit automobile demand.

TOKYO, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Japanese government bond futuresdropped on Tuesday, the first full trading day of this year, asinvestors took their cue from an overnight drop in U.S.Treasuries.

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.

WASHINGTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect BarackObama pressed congressional leaders on Monday to pass his hugespending and tax-cut package amid signs the centerpiece of hiseconomic stimulus plan may face delays.

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.

NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Bob McCann, the head of thebrokerage force at Merrill Lynch & Co , plans to leavethe securities firm, the Wall Street Journal reported onMonday.

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.

NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures settledat the highest level in a month on Monday as theIsraeli-Palestinian conflict escalated.

NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Och-Ziff Capital ManagementGroup , led by former star Goldman Sachs trader DanielOch, disclosed on Monday that assets managed by the firm fellby about 20 percent in December.

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) - Japanese government bond futuresdropped on Tuesday, the first full trading day of this year, asinvestors took their cue from an overnight drop in U.S.Treasuries.

* Macrovision will sell TV Guide to Lionsgate for $255 mln

WASHINGTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Legislation designed to stemforeclosures by allowing bankruptcy judges to erase somemortgage debt will be introduced by Congressional Democrats onTuesday, and hopes are high that it will pass after a similarplan failed last year.

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.

(For the latest Australia and New Zealand bond news, doubleclick on [AU/CRD] and then double click on the ID number)

WASHINGTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bushwill designate nearly 200,000 square miles (518,000 sq km) ofthe Pacific ocean on Tuesday as a protected region, White Houseofficials said, making the areas hands-off for oil drilling orother extraction procedures.

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 revive the faltering economy.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share 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 amid hopes for the new U.S. administration taking office later this month.

TOKYO, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average climbed 0.7percent on Tuesday, the first full trading day of 2009, as CanonInc and other exporters rose on a weaker yen and hopesfor the U.S. administration taking office later this month.

TAIPEI, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Taiwan newspapers carried thefollowing stories on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified thesestories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold extended losses early on Tuesday, slipping more than half a percent following Monday's near-2-percent drop on dollar weakness and worries about physical demand from India, the world's largest gold consumer.

(Repeats to addtional subscribers) (Adds details, background)

MANILA, Jan 6 (Reuters) - These are the leading stories inManila newspapers on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified thesestories.

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

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The prospect of new tax cuts in the United States and Germany injected a measure of New Year cheer on Monday, even as automakers wrapped up 2008 as their worst in more than 15 years with yet another month of slumping U.S. sales.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama pressed congressional leaders on Monday to pass his huge spending and tax-cut package amid signs the centerpiece of his economic stimulus plan may face delays.