** US MARKETS **
Dow -0,66%; Nasdaq -0,78%; S&P -0,61%; Soxx -1,12%; Russel2k -1,78%; DJAIG
-0,79%; 10yr Bond -0,03%; 10yr Yield 4,64%; Crude future 56,58; Gold 609,35

| Telecom -1,48%| ConsStaples -0,64%| Healthcare -0,51%| Utilities -1,79%|
Financials -0,83%| ConsDisc -0,78%| Industrials -0,59%| Energy 0,76%| Technology

-0,63%| Materials -0,57% – GE Plans to Buy Vetco Gray for $1.9 Billion From Buyout Firms, People Say – Economy Poised to Rebound in U.S. After Weathering Worst of Housing Slump – Forest Oil to Acquire Houston Exploration for $1.5 Billion in Cash, Stock – `Disaster’ Risk for Stocks Worldwide May Be Rising After Four-Year Rally – Stock Markets Contract as Global M&A, Share Buybacks Overtake Equity Sales

** ASIAN MARKETS **
Nikkei -1,51%; Kospi -1,08%; HSI -1,02%; Taiwan -1,26%; China 1,56%; India
-1,54%; Thailand -3,16%; Australia -1,18%

– Asian Stocks Drop, Led by Samsung Electronics and Bank of China – China’s 2006 Trade Surplus Likely Widened 74 Percent to $177.3 Billion – Australian Building Approvals Rise Twice as Much as Expected on Jobs Boom – Singapore Aircraft Buys 40 Airbus, Boeing Planes Worth About $3 Billion – Hong Kong Dollar May Link to Currency Basket Within Five Years, RBS Says – GM’s Sales Outside of U.S. Grow, Led by Demand in China, Latin America – Nissan’s Ghosn Says Steel Costs to Hurt Carmakers’ Profit, Force Mergers – Sony Ships 1 Million PlayStation 3 Game Consoles to U.S., Reaching Goal – Yen Volatility to Rise on Bank of Japan Rate Speculation, Lehman Predicts

** EUROPE: IN PLAY TODAY **

– Trichet May Say Europe, Asia to Withstand U.S. Economic Slowdown This Year – Merkel’s Pilloried Tax Increase Goes From Growth `Brake’ to Just a `Dent’ – British Airways Plc: Shares of Europe’s third-largest airline may rise after
the company reached an agreement with its four main trade unions to reduce its
2.1 billion-pound ($4.1 billion) pension-fund deficit. – Danisco A/S: Chief Executive Officer Tom Knutzen plans to boost net income at the company’s ingredients and enzymes division by 400 million kroner annually
amid a shift in focus from acquisitions to improving profitability, Berlingske-
Tidende reported. Danisco failed in its last fiscal year, 2005-2006, to meet its income target, earning 12.50 oere for every krone in sales, against a goal of
15 oere, it said, citing Knutzen. – Deutsche Post AG: TNT NV aims to undercut Deutsche Post’s prices in Germany,
Euro am Sonntag reported, citing an interview with the head of its German unit,
Mario Frusch. – Deutsche Telekom AG: Chief Executive Officer Rene Obermann said Europe’s
biggest phone company needs to lower costs and improve services to cushion the
decline in market share in the fixed-line business. – Electricite de France SA: France’s former power monopoly must sell its
electrical cable network unit to comply with European antitrust rules, Journal
du Dimanche reported without saying where it got the information. – Fortis: Belgium’s biggest financial-services company secured Chinese
regulatory approval to help form a company that will provide financial services
to Shenergy Group. Fortis will own 10 percent of the venture, which will become
operational in about six months, according to L’Echo. – Holcim Ltd.: The world’s second-biggest cement maker’s Chief Executive Officer Markus Akermann said the ``positive’’ trend of the first nine months of 2006
continued in the fourth quarter, newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft reported,
citing an interview. – Nokia Oyj: Shares in Nokia, the world’s largest mobile-phone maker, slumped
after rival Motorola Inc. missed profit and sales expectations for the fourth
quarter. – Porsche AG: The maker of the Cayenne sport-utility vehicle isn’t buying more
shares in Volkswagen AG (VOW GY), spokesman Frank Gaube said, dismissing
speculation that the company was adding to its stake. – Saipem SpA: Europe’s largest oil-field services contractor by market value,
expects profit in 2007 to rise 35 percent, Il Sole/24 Ore reported in its Letter to an Investor section. – Stork NV: The Dutch maker of parts for the F-35 Lightning II fighter jet faces a lawsuit over its decision to issue preference shares to block the breakup of
the company. Centaurus Capital Ltd. and Paulson & Co. asked the Amsterdam
district court to suspend the voting rights on the issued shares. Stork
spokesman Dick Kors said the company will ``vigorously defend’’ itself. – Tesco Plc: The U.K.’s biggest food retailer may be forced to sell its unused
land by the U.K. regulator, according to the Sunday Telegraph, citing
unidentified sources. – Volkswagen AG: Europe’s largest carmaker increased worldwide sales 9.3 percent
to a record last year on growth in western Europe, helped by new models such as
the Audi Q7 and Volkswagen Eos.

——-> HAVE A WONDERFUL 2007 < -----