WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. orders for durable goods edged up 0.2 percent in November, weaker than expected, according to government data released Thursday.

The Commerce Department said new orders for manufactured durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, in November increased smaller because declines in demand for aircraft and autos offset strength in a number of other areas. Economists had expected a 0.5 percent gain.

However, November's increase was better than a 0.6 percent decline in October.

In November, orders for machinery rose by 3.5 percent, demand for primary metals such as steel grew 1.4 percent and orders for computers and electronic products jumped 3.7 percent, the biggest gain since February payday advance loans.

But the demand for transportation products dropped 5.5 percent as orders for motor vehicles and parts declined 0.2 percent, the weakest showing in five months. Demand for commercial aircraft plunged 32.6 percent.

The department said that demand for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft rose by 2.9 percent in November, rebounding from a 2 percent drop in October. It was the best showing since a similar gain in September. This category is closely watched because economists considered it a good proxy for business investment. Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

U.S. durable goods orders rise 0.2% in November

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks closed lower again on Friday as worries about capital requirements continued to weigh on banks, offsetting gains in the commodity sector.

The FTSE 100 index reversed earlier gains to finish down 0.4%, or 20.80 points, to 5,196.81. The index lost 1.2% this week. Other European shares also ended in the red. See Europe Markets.

Banks fell once again, with Lloyds Banking Group the index' top decliner, down 4.7%. Royal Bank of Scotland shares fell 3% and Barclays shares declined 3.5%..

"The Basel Committee has published its latest thoughts on capital and liquidity. We are still digesting the main implications of this, but at first read it looks pretty punitive on the sector," said Credit Suisse analysts.

"Our first read is that U.K. banks, in particular Lloyds and RBS, look substantially exposed," they said. The sector's equity tier 1 capital would fall by about 20% were the new proposals to be introduced at December 2009 and risk-weighted assets would rise 20%, they added.

"On this basis, we would expect the sector's equity tier 1 ratio to fall from about 9.8% to 6.5% at December 2009 in a worst case scenario. This is the equivalent of over 50 billion pounds of equity capital, on our numbers," the analysts said.

Still, Lloyds CEO Eric Daniels said in an interview with the Financial Times out Friday that loan impairments have peaked and the bank hasn't changed yet its guidance to take out 1.5 billion pounds of costs by 2011 quick guaranteed personal loans.

Exane BNP Paribas analysts upgraded Lloyds to outperform from neutral on Friday.

"Whereas it is undeniably true that the scale and severity of losses destroyed the deal economics of the HBOS acquisition, we expect 2010 to become a year of delivery, as realized deal synergies overtake incremental investment spend," they said.

On the upside, shares of oil giant BP rose 0.4% after it was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman Sachs. The broker cited the firm's increasing leverage to oil prices and relatively low capital expenditure levels for the move.

Also in the sector, natural-gas producer BG Group rose 0.1% and mining giant BHP Billiton rose 1.1%.

Miners advanced as metal futures climbed, with Vedanta Resources shares up 0.8%.

Outside the top index, shares of temporary power supplier Aggreko rose 7.9%.

Fourth-quarter trading was better than anticipated, the firm said, driven by a strong performance in international power projects. It now expects 2009 revenue to exceed 1 billion pounds and operating profit to reach around 260 million pounds.

Shares of imaging and diagnostics firm Genetix soared 31% to 82 pence in London after Danaher Corp. of the U.S. offered to buy the firm for 85 pence a share, or 63.4 million pounds ($102.8 million).

London Markets: British shares end lower as banks weigh

COPENHAGEN &<51; With just two days remaining in historic and contentious climate talks here, China signaled overnight that it sees virtually no possibility that the nearly 200 nations gathered would find agreement by Friday.

A participant in the talks said that China would agree only to a brief political declaration that left unresolved virtually all the major issues.

The conference has deadlocked over emissions cuts by, and financing for, developing nations, including China, who say they will bear the brunt of a planetary problem they did little to create. Leaders had hoped to conclude an interim agreement on the major issues that would have &S220;immediate operational effect.&S221; The Chinese, it appears, are not willing to go that far at this meeting.

Whether the Chinese position represents political brinkmanship as senior ministers and heads of state begin arriving in Copenhagen for the final 48 hours of negotiations, or a genuine signal that Chinese officials are not inclined to settle the wide differences separating it and developed nations, was unclear on Thursday morning.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who arrived in Copenhagen overnight, announced on Thursday that the United States would participate in a $100 billion fund to help poor and vulnerable nations adapt to climate change and build more energy efficient economies. She cautioned, however, that American participation in the fund was contingent on reaching a firm agreement this week.

It was the first time the Obama administration had made a commitment to a medium-term financing effort and a clear effort to unblock a negotiation that has been stalled. She said the money would be a mix of public and private funds, including &S220;alternative sources of finance,&S221; which she did not specify.

Nor did she say what the American share of the fund would be, although typically in such multilateral financial efforts the United States contributes about 20 percent. She said the money should chiefly flow to the poorest and most vulnerable nations and should contain a sizeable fund to slow deforestation, which contributes to carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere.

The $100 billion figure is in line with pledges from Britain and the European Union, although at the low end.

&S220;A hundred billion can have tangible effects,&S221; Mrs. Clinton said. &S220;We actually think $100 billion is appropriate, usable and will be effective.&S221;

The world&S217;s two richest blocs, the European Union and the United States, have been slow to put pledges on the table for long-term financing, which under most estimates would require them to pay hundreds of billions of dollars each year by 2020. Last Friday, European Union leaders agreed on short-term financing totaling $10.5 billion over the next three years to help poor countries begin tackling the effects of global warming. But the bloc has so far failed to agree how much they would give in long-term financing. E.U. experts have recommended that fund should total about $150 billion annually by the end of the next decade.

President Obama is to arrive on Friday, joining some100 other heads of state who plan to come to Copenhagen to put a high-level stamp on whatever document might arise from the meeting.

But with the clock ticking, continued bickering among delegations would seem to be making the likelihood of a significant breakthrough increasingly slim.

&S220;I still believe it&S217;s possible to reach a real success,&S221; said the United Nations climate secretary, Yvo de Boer, at a press conference Wednesday night. &S220;But I must say that in that context, the next 24 hours are absolutely crucial and need to be used productively.&S221;

The continued deadlock is due in large measure to delays and diversions created by a group of poor and emerging nations intent on making their dissatisfaction clear. The Group of 77, as it is called, has raised repeated objections to what its members see as the economic and environmental tyranny of the industrial world, often in florid language.

&S220;The rich are destroying the planet,&S221; said Hugo Ch&>25;vez, the socialist president of Venezuela, on Wednesday. &S220;Perhaps they think they&S217;re going off to another one after they&S217;ve destroyed this one.&S221;

On Monday, African nations briefly brought the climate talks to a standstill. China, by far the largest economic power in the group, has dragged its feet throughout the week by raising one technical objection after another to the basic negotiating text infra red heaters. And on Wednesday night, the group refused to take part in negotiations that conference organizers had hoped would produce a definitive negotiating text by Thursday morning. Instead, many Group of 77 leaders spent the day hurling accusations at wealthier countries.

President Obama and other world leaders have said that the Copenhagen meetings are unlikely to produce a binding treaty; some sort of interim political agreement is far more likely, they said. But few appreciated the depth of anger in the developing world and the height of grandstanding that would consume so much of the conference&S217;s time. Now it is hard to find someone who confidently predicts even that much success.

The Group of 77 is a group in name only. Made up of 130 countries, it represents tiny island nations like Vanuatu and advanced middle-income states like Argentina. Its nominal leader is Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping, a Sudanese diplomat who speaks on behalf of the group and who led a walkout on Monday, saying the developed nations&S217; offer of $10 billion in &S220;quick-start&S221; financing after completion of a deal here was wholly inadequate.

Many developing nations have united under the group&S217;s auspices because they can take advantage of the far greater negotiating power and resources of countries like China and Brazil. Many small countries have neither a big enough delegation nor the organizational structure to negotiate effectively on their own.

China has been a natural godfather to many of the Group of 77 countries because its government has extensive investments in Africa and Latin America, often involving lucrative deals to bring oil and minerals home.

The coalition is united on a few central issues. They include making sure that industrialized countries keep the emissions reductions pledges they made as part of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and that the Copenhagen conference produces enough money for poorer countries to adapt to climate change, said Mar&>37;a Fernanda Espinosa, Ecuador&S217;s minister of cultural and ecological patrimony.

But the group is neither a tight negotiating unit, nor particularly well organized. While larger countries like Brazil and China have well-appointed headquarters in one part of the Bella Center, where the negotiations are being held, the Group of 77 office itself is made up of two spartan rooms equipped with two computers, where some delegates from the poorest African nations sat Wednesday morning drinking soda and nibbling biscuits.

&S220;The G-77 is an incredibly diverse group,&S221; said Michael A. Levi, a climate change specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations who is attending the Copenhagen meeting. &S220;Its richest countries are 50 times as wealthy on a per-capita basis as its poorest ones. All of this makes a common yet constructive position very difficult. The easiest thing to agree on is to obstruct action.&S221;

The cost of such obstruction is growing higher by the day. On Thursday and Friday, ministers and heads of government are expected to fashion a complex political agreement encompassing a host of issues that have divided them for years. Seldom, if ever, have national leaders engaged in negotiations as complex &<51; and as poorly prepared &<51; as these.

The strain is showing both inside the Bella Center and outside. On Wednesday, hundreds of demonstrators tried to storm the hall, but were pushed back by truncheon-wielding riot police officers who made 260 arrests. Inside, numerous groups staged demonstrations, sit-ins and noisy disruptions of public sessions.

Mr. de Boer, the United Nations official in charge of the conference, said that he was concerned about the safety of the arriving leaders and the rest of the participants. &S220;The incidents that have taken place today inside the conference center test my courage to continue in this way,&S221; he said, suggesting he would sharply limit access to the hall for the final two days.

In recent days, various officials have given gloomy assessments of the talks, including Connie Hedegaard, the former Danish environment minister who stepped down on Wednesday as president of the conference, yielding the chair to the Danish prime minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen. Officials said the turnover was dictated by protocol because the conference president shares a stage with fellow heads of government.

Elisabeth Rosenthal contributed reporting.

Hopes Are Fading for Climate Accord at Copenhagen

WASHINGTON – A year after Wall Street failures plunged the nation into recession, the House on Friday passed the most ambitious restructuring of financial regulation since the New Deal.

The sprawling legislation gives the government new powers to break up companies that threaten the economy, creates a new agency to oversee consumer banking transactions and shines a light into shadow financial markets that have escaped the oversight of regulators.

The vote was a party-line 223-202. No Republicans voted for the bill; 27 Democrats voted against it.

While a victory for the Obama administration, the legislation dilutes some of the president's recommendations, carving out exceptions to some of its toughest provision. The burden now shifts to the Senate, which is not expected to act on its version of a regulatory overhaul until early next year.

The legislation would govern the simplest payday loan and the most complicated high-finance trades direct payday loans. In its breadth, the measure seeks to impose restrictions on every house of finance, from two-teller neighborhood thrifts to huge interconnected conglomerates.

Democratic leaders had to fend off a last-minute attempt to kill a proposed consumer agency, a central element of the legislation and one the features pushed by President Barack Obama. The agency would strip consumer protection powers from current banking regulators, and big banks and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce vigorously opposed the idea.

Democrats said the legislation would help address the shortfalls that led to last year's calamitous financial crisis. Republicans argued that the regulations would overreach and would institutionalize bailouts for the financial industry.

House passes broad Wall Street regulatory overhaul

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The Senate will begin voting on amendments to a sweeping health-care reform bill on Thursday, Majority Leader Harry Reid said, taking up proposals related to Medicare and women's health on the fourth day of debate on President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.

Voting will get underway after Democrats and Republicans have hotly accused each other of delay on the bill, which seeks to extend insurance coverage to 94% of Americans and bar insurers from denying coverage to the sick, among many other things.

"Even for the United States Senate, this is a slow pace," said Sen. Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, on Thursday morning. Debate on the bill began Monday.

Four measures are on deck. The first two deal with women's health: Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., is seeking to provide coverage for mammograms and other preventive measures at little or even no cost to patients. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, has offered an alternative to Mikulski's amendment that she says would ensure patients get doctor recommendations about preventive health services "without interference from government-appointed advisers get a free credit report."

Senators will also vote on a proposal by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that would send the bill back to the Senate Finance Committee for a re-write, and strip out proposed cuts to the Medicare program. If it passes, McCain's proposal would have the effect of killing the bill, since its financing relies partly on slowing Medicare's rate of growth and cuts to the Medicare Advantage program, a federal government-subsidized program which allows seniors to choose health plans run by insurance companies.

Democrats say basic Medicare benefits will be preserved under the bill and are offering an amendment to make that explicit.

Republicans argue that the Democrats' bill imperils the program.

"The fact is, cuts to Medicare Advantage are cuts to Medicare," said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday.

All amendments need 60 votes to pass.

Democrats are aiming to pass the health bill before Christmas, and Reid has warned that senators will need to put in hours on the weekends for debate.

Senate to begin health-care votes Thursday

NEW YORK – Shares of Coldwater Creek Inc. slumped Wednesday after the women's apparel retailer posted a third-quarter loss that missed Wall Street's expectations.

Late Tuesday the company, based in Sandpoint, Idaho, reported a loss of 37 cents per share for the three months ended Oct. 31. It was a much bigger loss than that of a year ago, when Coldwater Creek lost a penny per share for the period.

Adjusted for one-time charges, the retailer lost 4 cents per share in the current quarter. But analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, whose estimates usually exclude one-time items, predicted a loss of 3 cents per share.

Margaret Whitfield of Sterne Agee & Leach said in a client note that the third-quarter performance also missed her forecast for a loss of 2 cents per share one hour payday loans. Whitfield said that a weak response to an October sale led to further markdowns, driving down gross margins 130 basis points to 36.4 percent.

The analyst cautioned that the fourth quarter may closely mirror the third quarter, as catalog prices are already set and promotions are planned.

Whitfield reiterated a "Neutral" rating and $9 price target.

Coldwater Creek's stock fell 78 cents, or 15 percent, to $4.57 in morning trading. The shares have traded in a range of $1.24 to $9.20 over the last year.

Coldwater Creek drops as 3Q results miss views

GUANGZHOU, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- China's leading automotive corporation, the SAIC Group, expects to sell 2.65 million vehicles this year, a roughly 30 percent rise from a year ago, a company official said Monday.

The SAIC Group, or Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, sold a total of 2.17 million vehicles in the first ten months this year. "Sales for the whole year will likely hit 2.65 million units, surpassing Suzuki and Fiat to become the world's eighth largest car company," said Group vice chairman Chen Hong.

Chen made the remarks while attending an auto show held in southern Guangzhou city, Guangdong Province. The Group sold about 1.83 million units last year.

Chen said due to the impact of the global financial crisis, multinational car companies had not fared well this year, while the SAIC group benefited from the booming car market in China fast cash advance.

In January this year, the Chinese government approved a series of industrial support packages including tax cuts and subsidies for car purchases in a bid to spur consumption. This had driven car sales to record highs.

In the first ten months this year, auto sales in China broke the 10 million mark and reached 10.89 million units, up 36.23 percent from a year ago, surpassing the United States as the world's largest auto market.

Chen forecast the country's total sales would reach 13.4 million units this year, and 20 million by 2014.

China's biggest car maker expects 30% surge in sales

LONDON (Reuters) – Cadbury Plc (CBRY.L) would prefer a merger with U.S. chocolate maker Hershey Co (HSY.N) rather than Kraft Foods Inc (KFT.N), the British company&&9;s chairman Roger Carr told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

However, he said both U.S. groups would fail if they cannot finance generous bids, the paper reported.

Hershey is considering launching a bid of at least &&6;17 billion for Cadbury as it seeks to trump a hostile &&6;16.5 billion offer by Kraft, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

"Clearly, whilst some potential offerors are more aligned with our business model than others, it is the value of the offer rather than the source of the offer that is our priority," Carr told the Sunday Telegraph.

Cadbury shares closed at 800 low fee payday loans.5 pence on Friday, valuing the company at about 11 billion pounds (&&6;16.5 billion). In recent notes, analysts have said Cadbury is worth about 850-900 pence a share.

"We&&9;re focused on delivering value to shareholders as a standalone pure-play confectioner," a Cadbury spokesman said on Sunday.

"We have always said that we would give proper consideration to any serious offer that delivers full value for the company. Unless and until we find ourselves in that situation we have nothing to comment upon." (Reporting by Julie Crust; editing by Jon Loades-Carter)

(&&6;1=.6645 Pound)

Cadbury prefers merger with Hershey over Kraft: report

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asian stocks rose for a fourth day on Wednesday as reports showed Chinese factory output jumped to a 19-month high in October, while the ailing U.S. dollar hovered near a 15-month low.

The Australian dollar slid briefly below US&&6;0.93 as other data showed new loans from Chinese banks were halved compared with September, leading dealers to take profits just before the currency could retest its October highs.

Nevertheless, other indications of China&&9;s economy were within expectations and gave no sign that the recovery that has led the global economy is petering out.

"China&&9;s recovery has extended into Q4 and this momentum looks set to continue into 2010," said Brian Jackson, strategist with Royal Bank of Canada in Hong Kong.

"Growth is still heavily reliant on policy stimulus, easy liquidity and government-directed investment, but we expect to see stronger external demand in the months ahead."

In the near term, further gains in equities may be getting more difficult as the year end approaches and some investors look to take profits from this year&&9;s strong rally. Asian and global stocks had gained about 4 percent in the last week alone.

U.S. markets also struggled to build on gains overnight, mostly closing slightly lower. (.N)

The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was up 0.4 percent on Wednesday, with the materials and consumer staples sectors outperforming, while Japan&&9;s Nikkei (.N225) rose 0.2 percent.

The Thomson Reuters index of regional shares ( no fax payday loans.TRXFLDAXPU) was down 0.15 percent.

Hong Kong&&9;s Hang Seng index (.HSI) rose 1.2 percent to within striking distance of its October high.

Shares of HSBC (0005.HK) (HSBA.L) were the top boost to the index, surging 4.7 percent after Europe&&9;s top lender said overnight it saw its first improvement in three years in U.S. consumer credit.

In currency markets, the U.S. dollar remained under pressure, though some analysts began to anticipate a corrective move higher as market participants begin to price in the fading effect of stimulus spending around the world.

"The USD correction, when it happens, is likely to be particularly vicious versus the Australian dollar (AUD), New Zealand dollar (NZD), Canadian dollar (CAD), South African rand (ZAR), and Brazilian real (BRL) given market positioning and valuations," Standard Chartered strategists said in a note.

The ICE Futures U.S. dollar index (.DXY), a measure of its value against six other major currencies, slipped 0.1 percent to its lowest since August 8.

The index is down 7.7 percent so far this year.

Oil edged above &&6;79 a barrel, after dipping a day earlier, as signs of robust economic growth in China offset mildly bearish U.S. industry data showing surprise increases in crude and distillate stockpiles.

(Editing by Kim Coghill)

Asia stocks up 4th day; China data supportive

Hot News: China says capital flows, major FX to decide yuan value

Responding to critics of last week’s decision by the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme not to suspend Zimbabwe over charges of human rights abuses in the eastern Marange diamond field, outgoing Kimberly Process Chairman Bernard Esau said that the Harare government has done much to address problems in the Manicaland province district.

Esau added in an interview with VOA Studio 7 reporter Sandra Nyaira that diamonds from the field are not funding conflict and Harare needs help to comply with Kimberly standards.

But Mutare-based analyst Farai Maguwu of the Center for Research and Development said Esau’s explanation won’t keep independent groups from speaking out on Marange, where Human Rights Watch says the military in control has killed more than 200 people cash loans.

More reports from VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe...

Kimberly Process Chair Defends Recent Decision Not to Suspend Zimbabwe

NEW YORK – The following stocks were among those that moved substantially or traded heavily Monday on the New York Stock Exchange:

NYSE:

RadioShack Corp., up $2.53 at $20.27

The electronics retailer said it would sell Apple Inc.'s popular iPhone, and an analyst said that could boost customer traffic.

Revlon Inc., up $4.01 at $14.79

An analyst upgraded the company due to improvements in market share, falling administrative and probable lower advertising costs.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co., up $2.58 at $37.59

Potential growth overseas and lower prices should help the companys sales, said two analysts as they upgraded the company.

Kraft Foods Inc., down 25 cents at $26.53

Cadbury rejected the food company's hostile takeover bid of more than $16 billion, whose terms were unchanged from an earlier offer.

Eldorado Gold Corp bad credit cash loans., up 77 cents at $13.12

Gold prices hit another record at $1,111.70 an ounce as the dollar crumpled, driving up shares of the gold miner and processor.

Lexman International Inc., down $1.20 at $25.48

Goldman Sachs put the printer manufacturer on its sell list, saying its stock price is "unsustainable" given its slow equipment sales.

NASDAQ:

Wynn Resorts Ltd., up $3.81 at $63.54

The companys board declared a special cash dividend of $4 per common share as well as a regular quarterly dividend program for 2010.

Dish Network Corp., up 99 cents at $20.14

Shares hit a 12-month high as it added 241,000 net subscribers in the third quarter and declared a one-time dividend of $2 per share.

RadioShack, Revlon, Dish Network are big movers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly jumped to 10.2 percent in October, breaching the politically sensitive double-digit barrier for the first time in 26-1/2 years, even though the pace of job losses slowed.

A Labor Department report showed on Friday that employers cut 190,000 jobs last month, more than the 175,000 markets had expected. Economists had looked for the jobless rate to rise to only 9.9 percent from 9.8 percent the prior month.

The government revised job losses for August and September to show 91,000 fewer jobs lost than previously reported.

U.S. stock index futures turned negative on the data, while government debt prices rose.

"The unemployment rate of 10.2 percent is problematic because it gives a sense of urgency to Washington, D.C. Washington will be looking for any increase in stimulus," said Tom Sowanick, co-president and chief investment officer at Omnivest Group.

President Barack Obama has called job creation priority No. 1, but the scope to take further steps to lift the economy is limited by record budget deficits.

Mounting unemployment could pose problems for the Democrats who control Congress as they head into congressional elections in November 2010. This week, Republicans wrested control of two state governorships away from Democrats in races where the weak economy figured prominently.

The labor market is being watched for signs whether the economic recovery that started in the third quarter can be sustained without government support. The economy grew at a 3.5 percent annualized rate in the July-September period, probably ending the most painful U.S. recession in 70 years.

Labor market sluggishness and weak wage growth suggest inflation is unlikely to get out of hand anytime soon, giving the Federal Reserve scope to maintain supportive policies no fax payday loan.

The U.S. central bank on Wednesday held overnight interest rates close to zero percent and said it would keep them extraordinarily low as long as excess economic slack and a lack of inflation warning signs prevailed.

"The Fed will stay on hold even longer with less likelihood of giving a concrete answer to when and how to withdraw quantitative easing," said Joseph Trevisani, senior market analyst at FX Solution in Saddler River, New Jersey.

Payrolls have declined for 22 consecutive months now, throwing 7.3 million people out of work since December 2007, when the recession started.

However, the pace of layoffs has slowed sharply from early this year, when nearly three-quarters of a million jobs were lost in January. In October, job losses were across almost all sectors, with education and health services and professional and business services bucking the trend.

Manufacturing employment fell 61,000 last month, while construction industries payrolls dropped 62,000.

The service-providing sector cut 61,000 workers in October and goods-producing industries slashed 129,000 positions. Education and health services added 45,000 jobs, while government employment was flat.

The average workweek, which closely correlates with overall output and gives clues on when firms will start hiring, was steady at 33 hours in October. Average hourly earnings rose to &&6;18.72 from &&6;18.67 in September.

(Additional reporting by Nick Olivari and Jennifer Ablan in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

U.S. unemployment rate hits 10.2 percent

LONDON (Reuters) – NYSE Euronext (NYX.N) (NYX.PA) said on Friday it is selling a "significant equity interest" in its derivatives exchange NYSE Liffe U.S., as it posted a 28-percent drop in third-quarter earnings.

The bourse will remain the biggest shareholder of the U.S. part of NYSE Liffe, it said.

NYSE Euronext&&9;s third-quarter net income, at &&6;125 million, outperformed market expectations, despite lower overall trading volumes, thanks to NYSE Liffe Clearing revenues and a 10 percent drop in fixed operating expenses.

Underlying fixed operating expenses, excluding the impact of mergers and acquisitions, foreign exchange fluctuations and investments in new businesses, were down &&6;121 million payday loan online.

A Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S consensus estimate was for a profit of &&6;119.8 million. The year-ago number was &&6;174 million.

Chief Executive Officer Duncan Niederauer said the bourse continued to see stabilization in its core businesses.

NYSE Euronext said it was selling the stake in NYSE Liffe U.S. to Goldman Sachs (GS.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N), UBS (UBSN.VX), Citadel Securities and GETCO, to accelerate the growth of its U.S. futures exchange.

(Reporting by Daisy Ku; Editing by Rupert Winchester)

NYSE Q3 beats consensus, sells Liffe U.S. stake

PARIS &S212; The British economy remained mired in recession during the third-quarter, according to data released Friday. That stood in stark contrast to the euro area, where reports showed steadily improving activity.

A significant reason for the divergent performance between the economies appears to be the larger debt burden of British consumers, analysts said.

A preliminary report from the Office of National Statistics in London showed gross domestic product contracted by 0.4 percent between July and September from the previous three months, and it shrank by 5.2 percent compared with a year earlier.

The British economy has now contracted for six successive quarters, making this the longest downturn since the agency started its data series in 1955.

Economists had expected growth of 0.2 percent for the quarter, based on recent improvements in housing statistics, purchasing managers&S217; indexes and the wilting pound, which should make exports more competitive.

Rather, the report showed weakness in the service sector, where output fell 0.2 percent; industrial production, down 0.7 percent; and construction, off 1.1 percent.

Britain is starting to further lag the 16-member euro area, where France and Germany are leading steady improvements in manufacturing, services and consumer demand.

Jean-Michel Six, chief European economist at Standard & Poor&S217;s, cited consumer indebtedness as the main factor undermining a recovery in Britain.

&S220;U.K. consumers are coming out of a period of very significant leveraging, and the process of unwinding that is long and painful,&S221; he said. &S220;You would expect savings rates to grow and credit demand to fall, weighing on the economy.&S221;

Meanwhile, German business confidence in October rose to its highest level in 13 months, according to the Ifo economic research institute in Munich bad credit auto loans.

Its business climate index, which surveys 7,000 executives, rose to 91.9 from 91.3 in September. The index touched a recent low of 82.2 in March.

&S220;The third quarter was a good quarter for the German economy,&S221; said Carsten Brzeski, an analyst at ING. &S220;Probably even an excellent quarter.&S221;

He said German companies were benefiting from the pick-up in global activity, stock rebuilding, stimulus-driven private consumption and tax relief.

Another report, from the data firm Markit, showed a composite index of manufacturing and services industries in the euro area improved to 53 in October from 51.1 in September.

The reading was the highest in 22 months, Markit said.

Chris Williamson, Markit&S217;s chief economist, said the data &S220;indicate that the euro-zone economy has entered the fourth quarter on a strong note&S221; and were consistent with G.D.P. rising at a quarterly rate of around 0.4 percent in October.

In France, the national statistics office INSEE said that consumer spending jumped 2.3 percent in September from August, well above expectations of a 0.5 percent rise.

Another release Friday, from the E.U. data agency Eurostat, showed that industrial orders in the euro area increased by 2.0 percent in August from July, but were down 23.1 percent from a year earlier.

Still, Mr. Six of S&P cautioned that smaller euro-area economies like Spain, Ireland, Greece and Portugal have not shown the level of resilience of the two largest members of the currency bloc.

U.K. Stuck in Recession as Euro Area Shows Strength

Hot News: Stocks Narrowly Mixed in Early Trading

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks fell on Monday as a resurgent U.S. dollar took a toll on commodity prices and investors paused to gauge if the outlook for corporate profits justified the market&&9;s recent run to 11-month highs.

A weaker-than-expected reading in a forward-looking measure of the U.S. economy added to the negative tone.

The Conference Board&&9;s August index of leading indicators rose 0.6 percent, a fifth straight monthly increase, but shy of the 0.7 percent forecast by economists.

"It&&9;s maybe a tad weaker than expected. But for stock prices, it&&9;s not going to change the overall direction, where stocks were a bit overbought here, looking for a modest pullback," said Steve Goldman, market strategist at Weeden & Co in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Through Friday the benchmark S&P 500 had risen 58 percent since hitting a 12-year closing low in early March, partly because of strong second-quarter earnings and optimism that an economic recovery is gaining traction.

That optimism is beginning to come under some strain, however, as investors seek more clarity about the 2010 profit outlook and await hints of how strong results will be for the rest of this year.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) shed 67.41 points, or 0.69 percent, to 9,752.79. The Standard & Poor&&9;s 500 Index (.SPX) lost 7.60 points, or 0.71 percent, to 1,060.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index ( payday loans guaranteed no fax.IXIC) declined 7.06 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,125.80.

Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N), down nearly 2 percent, was among the top drags after the maker of bulldozers, excavators and other products said worldwide August sales of machinery to dealerships fell.

Crude oil futures shed 3.8 percent to &&6;69.30 a barrel, and spot gold prices dropped below &&6;1,000 an ounce. The S&P materials (.GSPM) index fell 2 percent.

Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) declined 1 percent to &&6;69.28, while gold miner Newmont Mining Corp (NEM.N) shed 2.7 percent to &&6;43.77.

The Nasdaq&&9;s losses were curbed by a rise in biotechnology companies after a brokerage raised its rating on Celgene Corp (CELG.O), up 5 percent at &&6;55.20.

Computer maker Dell Inc (DELL.O) announced a &&6;3.9 billion proposed takeover of Perot Systems Corp (PER.N). Perot Systems shares jumped 65.3 percent to &&6;29.61, while Dell shares dipped 5.1 percent to &&6;15.83.

Any benefit from that announcement, however, was tempered by the rising U.S. dollar. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, rose 0.7 percent. (.DXY)

(Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

Wall Street dips as commodities, Caterpillar, data drag