** MORNING WRAP **

** US MARKETS **
Dow 0,1%; Nasdaq -0,46%; S&P -0,1%; Soxx -0,7%; Russel2k -0,59%; DJAIG -0,49%;
10yr Bond 0,03%; 10yr Yield 4,48%; Crude future 61,03; Gold 629,05

| Telecom 0,68%| Utilities 0,47%| Energy 0,26%| Financials 0,01%| Healthcare
-0,03%| Industrials -0,04%| ConsStaples -0,05%| Technology -0,47%| ConsDisc
-0,52%| Materials -1,17%

- The Federal Reserve Bank held overnight interest rates steady at 5.25% for the
fourth straight meeting on Tuesday and kept the door open for further rate
increases, saying inflation risks remain elevated despite a substantial cooling
in the housing market. In its last meeting of the year, the Federal Open Market
Committee maintained its waitand-see approach. “This statement suggests a
wait-and-see approach on the part of the Fed as the downturn in housing plays
out,” Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues continued their practice of
making subtle changes to past policy statements. The subtle changes to the
statement from October are dovish in that they increase the central bank’s
concern about the economic outlook.

- Continental Airlines Inc.: The fifth-largest U.S. airline is in talks to merge
with United Air Lines, a unit of UAL Corp., the New York Times and Wall Street
Journal reported.

- U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson arrives in Beijing today to start a new
long-term ``dialogue’’ with China aimed at cooling economic tensions. His
biggest risk may be a lack of time before Congress takes up trade sanctions.

** ASIAN MARKETS **
Nikkei 0,33%; Kospi 0,46%; HSI 1,47%; Taiwan -0,11%; China 0,31%; India 0,96%;
Thailand -0,26%; Australia 0,28%

- Qantas Rejects $8.6 Billion Takeover Bid Led by Macquarie, Texas Pacific
- China’s Industrial Production Grows 14.9 Percent, Close to a TwoYear Low
- Asian Stocks Advance, Led by Toyota Motor, Samsung on Oil and Dollar
- China Coal Raises $1.69 Billion in Hong Kong Share Offering, Bankers Say
- Toll Holdings to Spin Off Port, Rail Units, Focus on Asian Freight Growth
- CSL Raises Full-Year Profit Growth Forecast to 30 Percent on Plasma Sales
- Credit Suisse Says India Will Overtake China as Fastest-Expanding Economy
- Paulson’s China `Dialogue’ May Founder as Congress Demands Quick Results
- Japan’s Current-Account Surplus Widens for a Fourth Month on Auto Exports
- QBE Insurance to Acquire Praetorian for $800 Million to Add U.S. Premiums
- Yen Falls to Record Against Euro; Brokerages Cut Economic Growth Forecasts

** EUROPE: IN PLAY TODAY **

- Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA: Passenger traffic at Spain’s biggest
airline rose 11 percent in November from a year earlier, the company said in a
regulatory filing.

- UBS AG: UBS Financial Services Inc., a UBS unit, was sued by New York State
for allegedly defrauding thousands of clients, state Attorney General Eliot
Spitzer said after the market closed in Zurich. Spitzer’s office claimed the UBS
unit improperly shifted clients with regular brokerage accounts into the
company’s ``InsightOne’’ accounts, which have higher fees. The suit, filed
in state court in Manhattan, seeks unspecified damages, Spitzer’s office said.

- E.ON, Iberdrola May Get Debt-Rating Downgrade After Spree of Acquisitions
- U.K.’s Pay Index Reached Its Highest Level in Almost Six Years in November
- DaimlerChrysler’s Credit-Default Swaps are Most Actively Traded in Europe
- Wal-Mart Completes Biggest Sale of Corporate Bonds in Pounds Since 2001