** MORNING WRAP **

** US MARKETS **
Dow 0,02%; Nasdaq 0,03%; S&P 0,12%; Soxx 1,23%; Russel2k 0,04%; DJAIG 0,08%;
10yr Bond 0,03%; 10yr Yield 4,57%; Crude future 61,62; Gold 627,75

| Energy 1,05%| Utilities 0,4%| ConsDisc 0,33%| Materials 0,25%| Financials
0,08%| Technology 0,07%| Telecom -0,02%| Healthcare -0,1%| ConsStaples -0,15%|
Industrials -0,43%

- Retail Sales in U.S. Rise for First Time Since July on Holiday Discounting
- Paulson Urges China to Make Yuan More Flexible, Protect Property Rights
- OPEC May Postpone Cut in Production as Crude Oil Holds Above $61 a Barrel

Apple Computer Inc. added $2.91, or 3.4 percent, to $89.05. The iPod maker
will introduce a cellphone by April, which may add $1.5 billion in annual sales,
according to UBS AG analyst Benjamin Reitzes. Apple’s mobile-phone service will
likely use Cingular’s U.S. network, the analyst wrote in a note.

- IPG Photonics Corp. rose $9.10, or 55 percent, to $25.60 in its first day of
trading. The maker of fiber-optic lasers and amplifiers sold 9 million shares
yesterday at $16.50 each, more than a preliminary price of $13.50 to $15.50,
raising $148.5 million.

** ASIAN MARKETS **
Nikkei 0,82%; Kospi 2,54%; HSI 0,75%; Taiwan 0,4%; China 0,82%; India 1,68%;
Thailand 0,35%; Australia 1,45%

- Qantas Airways Agrees to Macquarie Bank’s Sweetened $8.7 Billion Buyout
- Asian Stocks Climb, Led by Sony, on U.S. Retail Sales; Qantas Advances
- Paulson Urges China to Permit Currency Flexibility as Beijing Talks Start
- Transurban Agrees to Buy Sydney Roads for $990 Million to Add Tollroads
- Sony Will Meet Target of Shipping 2 Million PlayStation 3s, Chubachi Says
- Toshiba, Sony, NEC Electronics Unveil More Efficient Chip-Making Process
- Wilmar Plans to Announce `Major Development,’ Stokes Takeover Speculation
- QBE Insurance Acquires Praetorian for $800 Million, Doubling Sales in U.S.
- Yen May Gain on Speculation Business Confidence Climbed to Two-Year High

** EUROPE: IN PLAY TODAY **

- Swiss Central Bank May Increase Main Rate to 2 Percent, Signal More Moves
- Sweden’s Central Bank May Raise Rates a Sixth Time as Growth Accelerates
- Credit Suisse Receives Vietnam’s Approval for Trading in Stocks and Bonds

- Nestle SA, the world’s biggest food company, agreed to buy Swiss drugmaker
Novartis AG’s medical nutrition unit for $2.5 billion to gain nutritional
supplements used in hospitals. The transaction should be completed in the second
half of next year, Vevey, Switzerland-based Nestle said in an e-mailed
statement. The unit generates annual sales of about $950 million. ``The move
propels Nestle into a strong No. 2 position in the fast growing and profitable
healthcare nutrition segment, where so far Nestle played only a minor role,’‘
the company said in the statement. Nestle said the acquisition won’t have an
impact on earnings in the short term.

- Endesa SA, Iberdrola SA, Union Fenosa SA): Spain’s electricity companies may
be active after the government said it plans to raise household power rates by
2.8 percent next year.