Live Financial And Business News By SaneBull

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pandemic of swine flu may be hitting a peak in the United States, health experts said on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's announcement of a new strategy on Afghanistan will not take place until after the Thanksgiving holiday next week, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Friday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Women in the United States should start cervical cancer screening at age 21 and most do not need an annual Pap smear, according to new guidelines issued on Friday that aim to reduce the risk of unnecessary treatment.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The uproar over new breast cancer screening guidelines in the United States underscores the delicate balance scientists and health policy experts face in trying to convince a wary American public that less healthcare, in some cases, may be good for them.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders named Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, who is little known outside his own country, as the bloc's first president on Thursday to lead efforts to make it more influential on the world stage.

* FDIC says Central Bank, in Minnesota, to assume deposits

Nov 20 (Reuters) - The following financial servicesindustry appointments were announced on Friday. To inform us ofother job changes, e-mail moves@thomsonreuters.com.

NYSE CLOSING BOND TRANSACTIONS: 390,000

CHICAGO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The number of cattle beingfattened in U.S. feedlots as of Nov. 1 was up about 1.5 percentfrom last year's low supply, but remained low historically asthe weak economy has discouraged cattle production and hurtbeef demand.

(For full coverage of U.S. healthcare reform, click [ID:nN20512341])

OFFICIAL HIGH LOWInd 10,342.72 10,271.68Tran 3,955.98 3,923.82Util 372.37 369.29Comp 3,470.72 3,448.53

OFFICIAL OPEN CLOSEInd 10,327.91 10,318.16Tran 3,955.98 3,945.52Util 370.16 371.84Comp 3,466.46 3,463.76

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Fourth-quarter U.S. earningscould be a repeat of the third quarter, with actual earningslikely to beat Wall Street expectations.

SANTIAGO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Union workers at Chile'sAltonorte copper smelter said on Friday they expect tough wagetalks with owner Xstrata , which claims tight margins onlower treatment charges has hurt the business.

* Will use proceeds to retire existing debt (Recasts with pricing, ratings upgrade)

NEW YORK - Federal Reserve Bank of New York PresidentWilliam Dudley speaks before the Columbia University WorldLeaders Forum sponsored by the Program for Economic Researchand Center for Japanese Economy and Research, ColumbiaUniversity, 1745 EST/2245 GMT. Speech topic TBD. Audience Q&Aexpected. Columbia University, Rotunda, Low MemorialLibrary.Must RSVP by 5 p.m. ET Dec. 4: Tanya Domi, 212 854-5579or TD207@columbia.edu; or Jeffrey Smith, 212 720-6139 orjeffrey.smith@ny.frb.org

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MEXICO CITY, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Mexico's economy likelyexpanded 2.4 percent in the third quarter compared with theprevious three months as the country began to recover from adeep recession, according to analysts surveyed by Reuters.

* No big new spending measures in 2010 budget (Adds fresh comment, Liberal Party reaction)

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - A weekly measure of futureU.S. economic growth fell to a nine-week low along with itsyearly growth rate, but the slouch in figures that recentlyreached record highs does not signal a rocky recovery, aresearch group said on Friday.

WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The number of mass layoffsreported by U.S. employers fell last month from September, agovernment report showed on Friday, suggesting job losses wereclose to bottoming.

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - A weekly measure of futureU.S. economic growth fell to a nine-week low along with itsyearly growth rate, but the dip in the index that recentlyreached a record high does not signal a rocky recovery, aresearch group said on Friday.

For Today in Germany diary double-click on [DE/DIARY]

For German corporate events diary click on [WEU/EQUITY]

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* Will use proceeds to retire existing debt (Recasts with pricing, ratings upgrade)

ST. PAUL, Minn., Nov 20 (Reuters) - Minnesota businessmanTom Petters made a final push on Friday to convince a federaljury he was not responsible for a $3.65 billion Ponzi schemethat bankrupted his company.

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The charitable trust thatcontrols Hershey Co is pushing the company to launch arival $17 billion bid for Cadbury Plc , the Wall StreetJournal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with thematter.

BOSTON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Investors tempted to put moneyinto star hedge fund manager John Paulson's new gold portfoliowill have to commit at least $10 million and leave the moneylocked up for at least one year, according to a prospectus.

(Adds comments from second Treasury nominee, background)

TORONTO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Collecting fine art is morethan just a hobby for savvy investors who see the art world asa $50 billion vehicle for generating wealth, storing it andpassing on to their heirs.

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Vivendi SA andGeneral Electric have agreed that Vivendi will be paidclose to one-third of the value of its NBC Universal stake,although a value for the stake itself is still beingnegotiated, a person familiar with the matter said.

* Nickel stocks head for historical highs (Changes headline, adds NEW YORK to dateline, recasts, Updatesclosing prices)

* Terra shares up 5 pct, CF shares down 0.2 pct (Adds vote margin, nominee names, Agrium comment, context;updates stock prices)

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures endedlower on Friday, dragged down by a resurgent dollar and asequities dipped on economic recovery worries.

* FDIC says Central Bank, in Minnesota, to assume deposits

NYSE CLOSING BOND TRANSACTIONS: 390,000

(For full coverage of U.S. healthcare reform, click [ID:nN20512341])

* Will use proceeds to retire existing debt (Recasts with pricing, ratings upgrade)

MIAMI, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The ringleader of a group ofMiami men convicted of plotting to blow up Chicago's SearsTower and government offices was sentenced to 13-1/2 years inprison on Friday.

ST. PAUL, Minn., Nov 20 (Reuters) - Minnesota businessmanTom Petters made a final push on Friday to convince a federaljury he was not responsible for a $3.65 billion Ponzi schemethat bankrupted his company.

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - George Miller, executivedirector of the American Securitization Forum, is resigningnext month, the U.S. bond lobbying group said on Friday.

NEW YORK - Federal Reserve Bank of New York PresidentWilliam Dudley speaks before the Columbia University WorldLeaders Forum sponsored by the Program for Economic Researchand Center for Japanese Economy and Research, ColumbiaUniversity, 1745 EST/2245 GMT. Speech topic TBD. Audience Q&Aexpected. Columbia University, Rotunda, Low MemorialLibrary.Must RSVP by 5 p.m. ET Dec. 4: Tanya Domi, 212 854-5579or TD207@columbia.edu; or Jeffrey Smith, 212 720-6139 orjeffrey.smith@ny.frb.org

* U.S. immigration agency to review firms' hiring records

(Adds comments from second Treasury nominee, background)

CHICAGO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The number of cattle beingfattened in U.S. feedlots as of Nov. 1 was up about 1.5 percentfrom last year's low supply, but remained low historically asthe weak economy has discouraged cattle production and hurtbeef demand.

(For full coverage of U.S. healthcare reform, click [ID:nN20512341])

SANTIAGO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Union workers at Chile'sAltonorte copper smelter said on Friday they expect tough wagetalks with owner Xstrata , which claims tight margins onlower treatment charges has hurt the business.

* Will use proceeds to retire existing debt (Recasts with pricing, ratings upgrade)

MIAMI, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The ringleader of a group ofMiami men convicted of plotting to blow up Chicago's SearsTower and government offices was sentenced to 13-1/2 years inprison on Friday.

WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The pandemic of swine flumay be hitting a peak in the Northern Hemisphere, global healthofficials said on Friday, but they cautioned it was far fromover.

* High-frequency trading likely to boost volume (Adds detail on co-location, additional quote, background,byline)

* Dow off 0.1 pct; S&P 500 off 0.3 pct; Nasdaq off 0.5 pct

(Adds comments from second Treasury nominee, background)

* 54 million doses of vaccine packaged or given (Adds CDC investigation into drug-resistant cases)

Nov 20 (Reuters) - The following financial servicesindustry appointments were announced on Friday. To inform us ofother job changes, e-mail moves@thomsonreuters.com.

* Will use proceeds to retire existing debt (Recasts with pricing, ratings upgrade)

ST. PAUL, Minn., Nov 20 (Reuters) - Minnesota businessmanTom Petters made a final push on Friday to convince a federaljury he was not responsible for a $3.65 billion Ponzi schemethat bankrupted his company.

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The charitable trust thatcontrols Hershey Co is pushing the company to launch arival $17 billion bid for Cadbury Plc , the Wall StreetJournal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with thematter.

BOSTON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Investors tempted to put moneyinto star hedge fund manager John Paulson's new gold portfoliowill have to commit at least $10 million and leave the moneylocked up for at least one year, according to a prospectus.

(Adds comments from second Treasury nominee, background)

TORONTO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Collecting fine art is morethan just a hobby for savvy investors who see the art world asa $50 billion vehicle for generating wealth, storing it andpassing on to their heirs.

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Vivendi SA andGeneral Electric have agreed that Vivendi will be paidclose to one-third of the value of its NBC Universal stake,although a value for the stake itself is still beingnegotiated, a person familiar with the matter said.

* Nickel stocks head for historical highs (Changes headline, adds NEW YORK to dateline, recasts, Updatesclosing prices)

* Terra shares up 5 pct, CF shares down 0.2 pct (Adds vote margin, nominee names, Agrium comment, context;updates stock prices)

CHICAGO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The number of cattle beingfattened in U.S. feedlots as of Nov. 1 was up about 1.5 percentfrom last year's low supply, but remained low historically asthe weak economy has discouraged cattle production and hurtbeef demand.

* Union says progress made, may extend deadline if need be

* Will have independent audit firm review its financials

WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Nearly two dozen members ofthe U.S. Senate sought answers on Friday from General Motorsand Chrysler on efforts to resolve complaints from dealers wholost business with the car companies.

PHILADELPHIA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - U.S. chocolate makerHershey Co is considering launching a bid of at least$17 billion for British chocolatier Cadbury Plc in aneffort to outstrip a hostile offer by Kraft Foods Inc, a sourcefamiliar with the matter said on Friday.

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - The charitable trust thatcontrols Hershey Co is pushing the company to launch arival $17 billion bid for Cadbury Plc , the Wall StreetJournal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with thematter.

NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - A global retreat from riskyassets on concerns over the strength of the economic recoveryweighed on overseas shares traded in the United States onFriday, sending them lower for a fourth-straight day.

* Ford to invest 4 bln reais in Brazil, most in northeast

CHICAGO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - When the U.S. holiday shoppingseason kicks off on the day after Thanksgiving, retailers canexpect to see millions of less frightened but even more bargainhungry customers cross their thresholds.

* Previous record $22.2 million from "Harry Potter" movie