More Breaking News

Treasuries Remain Lower After $44 Billion Sale of 2-Year Notes Treasuries remained lower after the government sold a record-tying $44 billion of two-year debt at the lowest yield ever, the first of three note sales this week totaling a record $118 billion.

Cuomo Took Campaign Cash From Lawyers Seeking Access (Update1) New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s campaign fund took tens of thousands of dollars from law firms representing clients his office investigated or accused of wrongdoing, state records show.

Mexico’s Credit Rating Cut by Fitch on Fiscal Outlook (Update1) Mexico’s credit rating was cut one level by Fitch Ratings after tumbling oil output and the worst recession since the 1930s swelled the budget deficit.

Madoff Trustee Seeks $22 Million for 5 Months’ Work (Update1) Irving Picard, the liquidator for Bernard Madoff’s investment advisory business, asked a judge to approve $22.1 million in fees for him and his law firm, Baker & Hostetler LLP, for five months of work on the case.

Stocks, Commodities Gain on Growth Outlook; Dollar, Yen Decline Stocks rose around the world, commodities advanced and the dollar and the yen fell as sales of U.S. homes increased more than forecast and speculation grew that central banks will keep interest rates near record lows.

Blackstone, KKR, Consider Options for Stake in Denmark’s TDC Blackstone Group LP, KKR & Co., Permira Advisers LLP and two buyout firms that took control of Denmark’s TDC A/S in Europe’s biggest leveraged buyout at the time are evaluating options for their stake.

Mexico’s Foreign Currency Rating Cut to BBB From BBB+ at Fitch Fitch Ratings cut Mexico’s foreign currency rating to BBB from BBB+, saying the global recession and falling oil production have “accentuated weakness” in the country’s fiscal profile.

Dollar, Yen Fall as U.S. Housing Gain Spurs Demand for Risk The dollar and yen dropped against all of the other major currencies as sales of existing U.S. homes rose to the highest level since February 2007, increasing demand for higher-yielding assets.

Glaxo Puts Hold on Some Swine Flu Shots in Canada (Update2) Canadian doctors should hold off on using a batch of GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s swine flu vaccine while the company probes reports of higher-than-expected occurrences of a side effect known as anaphylaxis, a spokeswoman for the U.K. drugmaker said today.

King Climbs as Drug Companies Lure Private Equity (Update2) King Pharmaceuticals Inc., LifePoint Hospitals Inc. and Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. may be buyout targets as private-equity firms seek companies battered by the economy and poised to gain from the U.S. health overhaul.

Ortiz May Keep Mexico Rate at 4.5%, Could Leave Bank (Update1) Banco de Mexico Governor Guillermo Ortiz will probably keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged this week as investors speculate President Felipe Calderon will replace the region’s longest-serving central bank chief.

Democrats Look to Unify as Senate Health Debate Looms (Update1) Democrats who united last week to bring a sweeping health-care plan to the U.S. Senate floor still need to settle disagreements in their own ranks to pass President Barack Obama’s top domestic initiative.

Unilever Has $3 Billion for Acquisitions, CFO Says (Update1) Unilever, the world’s second-largest consumer products maker, said it still has as much as 2 billion euros ($3 billion) in cash to spend on acquisitions, two months after announcing its biggest purchase in nine years.

Chinese Drywall Causing Corrosion of Metal, CPSC Says (Update1) Sulfur emissions from imported Chinese drywall are corroding metal and wires in U.S. homes, federal safety investigators said.

Origin Agritech Jumps as China Approves Modified Corn (Update1) Origin Agritech Ltd., China’s third- biggest seed producer, surged in Nasdaq trading after the company won approval to sell the nation’s first genetically modified corn seed.

Karadzic Can’t Appeal Assignment of Lawyer, UN Tribunal Says Radovan Karadzic is currently not allowed to appeal a decision by a UN war crimes tribunal to assign him a lawyer, the court in The Hague said today.

East Europe Proving Too Good as Debt Erodes 50% Gain (Update2) Eastern Europe, where currencies and equities combined to produce total dollar-denominated returns of about 50 percent this year, is showing signs of unraveling as the continent’s favorite investment because of runaway debts.

SEC to Focus on Derivatives as Insider Probes Expand (Update2) The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will focus on financial instruments such as derivatives as it broadens a crackdown on insider trading by hedge funds, enforcement director Robert Khuzami said.

Hershey Debt Risk Rises on Cadbury Bid Speculation (Update1) The cost to protect against a default by Hershey Co. approached a record high on speculation that the maker of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups will outbid Kraft Foods Inc. for Cadbury Plc and trigger a debt-rating downgrade.

Zynga May Be Valued at $1 Billion on Facebook Craze (Update1) Zynga Inc., maker of the “Mafia Wars” and “FarmVille” games played on Facebook, may be valued at $1 billion based on the sale price of a smaller rival.

Gates Asks Military to Probe Why Fort Hood Shooter Was Promoted The U.S. military’s review of the Fort Hood shootings must include an assessment of the accused shooter’s career path and whether he should have been promoted, according to Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Lehman, Bear Stearns Officials Made $2.4 Billion, Study Says Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Bear Stearns Cos. executives made $2.4 billion from 2000 to 2008, a sign pay policies may have encouraged risk-taking that doomed the companies, a Harvard University study said.

Crib Recall Said to Be Planned by U.S. Consumer Safety Agency A safety recall of cribs with dropdown sides will be announced tomorrow by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, a person familiar with the regulator’s plans said.

MAN SE Says CEO Hakan Samuelsson Leaves With Immediate Effect MAN SE Chief Executive Officer Hakan Samuelsson will step down with immediate effect, leaving Europe’s third-largest truckmaker after nine years.

Fischer Raises Israeli Benchmark Rate for Second Time (Update2) The Bank of Israel unexpectedly raised the benchmark interest rate for a second time since the global economy began to recover as growth accelerated and inflation approached the top of the government’s target range.

Morgan Stanley Hires Moffitt to Help Build Securitization Unit Morgan Stanley, preparing for a resurgence in securitized debt sales, hired former Merrill Lynch & Co. executive David Moffitt to lead the effort within the firm’s capital markets division.

Caterpillar Beating Komatsu as Dow Soars on Dollar (Update2) For the first time since the equity rally began in March, the biggest U.S. stocks are beating the smallest as the dollar’s descent sends investors to companies with the most business in international markets.

Macy's Promoting Blenders Signals Reluctant Consumer (Update1) Blenders and sweaters may rise in popularity this holiday season as consumers seek to replenish kitchens and wardrobes rather than spend money on luxury gifts.

Gold Jumps to Record as Slumping Dollar Spurs Investment Demand Gold jumped to a record as the slumping dollar boosted bullion’s appeal as an alternative asset. Other precious metals also gained.

MAN SE Chief Leaves, Pachta-Reyhofen Named as Interim CEO MAN SE said Chief Executive Officer Håkan Samuelsson has resigned from the company and will leave with immediate effect. The company has appointed Georg Pachta- Reyhofen as his interim successor.

BofA May Name Stopgap Chief If Board Needs More Time (Update1) Bank of America Corp.’s board may extend its search for a permanent new chief executive officer into 2010 if directors can’t settle on a candidate in the next three days, according to people familiar with the matter.

SEC Should Compel Carbon Risk Disclosures, Investor Group Says U.S. companies should be forced to tell investors how much carbon dioxide they produce and how they will win or lose under plans to regulate greenhouse gases, a group of pension funds and state treasurers said today in a petition to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Strauss-Kahn Says Dollar Not at Risk, Asset Bubbles Pose Threat International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said that confidence in the dollar isn’t under threat and his main challenge for now is fighting the danger of asset bubbles in emerging markets.

Reliance Urged to Pay Below $12 Billion for Lyondell (Update2) Reliance Industries Ltd.’s bid for bankrupt chemicals and fuels maker LyondellBasell Industries AF will be “positive” if India’s largest company pays less than $12 billion, brokerage CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets said.

U.S. State Tax Revenue Fell 11 Percent in Fourth Quarterly Drop U.S. states tax collections fell for the fourth consecutive quarter as job losses and the economic recession cut revenue from income and sales levies, according to the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government.

U.S. Existing Home Sales Rise 10%, More Than Forecast (Update2) Sales of existing U.S. homes increased more than forecast in October to the highest level since February 2007, spurred in part by a tax credit that lured first-time buyers.

‘Twilight’ Sequel Is 3rd-Best Box-Office Opener Ever (Update1) “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” the vampire love story based on best-selling novels, recorded the third-biggest opening weekend in box-office history with $140.7 million in ticket sales for Summit Entertainment LLC.

U.S. Stocks Extend Gains as Home Sales Top Economist Estimates U.S. stocks extended gains after new- home sales topped forecasts, adding to evidence the economy is rebounding from the worst recession in seven decades.

U.S. Corporate Bond Sales Climb to a Record $1.17 Trillion Borrowers have sold a record $1.171 trillion in U.S. corporate bonds in 2009, surpassing the amount sold in 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Campbell Profit Rises on Declining Production Costs (Update1) Campbell Soup Co., the world’s largest soupmaker, said first-quarter profit climbed 17 percent on decreasing marketing and ingredient costs.