General offers assurances on Afghan war 
The U.S. general in charge of the Afghanistan war assured lawmakers Tuesday that an additional 30,000 troops, combined with changes in the overall war strategy, would trigger a demonstrable change on the ground before U.S. forces start to come home in 18 months.
"By the summer of 2011, it will be clear to the Afghan people that the insurgency will not win, giving them the chance to side with their government," Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal said.
Despite such assurances, members of the House and Senate armed services committees used the appearance Tuesday by McChrystal -- as well as the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl W. Eikenberry -- to press for answers on what would happen in July 2011, when the 30,000 forces that President Obama recently committed to sending to Afghanistan are to begin their gradual pullout.
Darling's 'Politically Motivated' Bonus Tax Attacked
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Chancellor of the Exchequer AlistairDarling said the U.K. will force banks awarding discretionarybonuses of more than 25,000 pounds ($40,800) to pay a one-timelevy of 50 percent.
The tax, effective today, will be paid by all banks thatoperate in the U.K., including U.S. firms such as Goldman SachsGroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Employees will still have topay income tax on their bonuses, the Treasury said. The top taxrate on earnings of more than 150,000 pounds will rise to 50percent in April, a measure announced earlier this year.
Today’s levy will raise about 550 million pounds, less than1 percent of the U.K.’s total tax revenue, according to KPMG LLP.Darling, whose Labour Party faces an election by June, is tryingto mollify voter anger after providing more than 1 trillionpounds to prop up lenders including Royal Bank of Scotland GroupPlc in the credit crisis. Barclays Plc President Robert Diamondsaid yesterday the measure risks driving business away from theCity of London.
Iraqi man, lucky dog reunite after Baghdad blast
BAGHDAD — The owner of a dog that miraculously survived a massive bombing returned to his collapsed home Wednesday to be reunited with his pet, stunning neighbors who thought he was dead.
The ginger-colored dog was spotted chained to a roof railing and standing on a wall ledge over the collapsed home after Tuesday's huge blast near Iraq's Finance Ministry leveled shops and houses. The attack was part of coordinated bombings around Baghdad that claimed at least 127 lives.
"Lots of neighbors thought I was dead," said Farouq Omar Muhei after his dog, Liza, was carried down to the street and began lapping at a puddle.
How fake sites trick search engines to hit the top
SAN FRANCISCO — Even search engines can get suckered by Internet scams.
With a little sleight of hand, con artists can dupe them into giving top billing to fraudulent Web sites that prey on consumers, making unwitting accomplices of companies such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft.
Online charlatans typically try to lure people into giving away their personal or financial information by posing as legitimate companies in "phishing" e-mails or through messages in forums such as Twitter and Facebook. But a new study by security researcher Jim Stickley shows how search engines also can turn into funnels for shady schemes.
Darling Raises Taxes on Income, Bonuses as UK Deficit Rises
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Chancellor of the Exchequer AlistairDarling imposed a 50 percent levy on banker bonuses and said hewill increase income taxes after elections next year as the worst recession on record drives up government borrowing.
The Treasury expects to raise 550 million pounds ($896million) targeting payouts at banks in the next few months andanother 3 billion pounds from incomes earned after April 2011.Borrowing will rise by 4.6 billion pounds to 611 billion poundsin through March 2013.
Trailing in opinion polls before an election that he musthold by June, Prime Minister Gordon Brown is balancing the needto clamp down on a record budget deficit while extending supportfor voters struggling to keep their jobs during the slump.
2 Star Lots Dominate Weak Old Masters Sale
Christie’s inaugurated the Old Masters week with a £68.3 million, or $112.4 million, sale that says everything about the desperate search for great art by eager buyers and the equally desperate attempt by departmental heads to fill their catalogs with enough works to build up economically viable auctions.
Two key works loomed large in a way that would have been inconceivable three decades ago. The most talked about, a black chalk sketch of a woman seen head and shoulders, was hailed as the work of Raphael.
Estimated by Christie’s to be worth £12 million to £16 million plus the sale charge, it was the object of a furious contest pitching a great connoisseur dealer “retired” in Italy, Luca Baroni, against an anonymous telephone bidder. The “Head of a Muse,” described as a preparatory sketch for the third muse on the right of Raphael’s fresco depicting the “Parnassus” in the Vatican, ended up at a phenomenal £29 million, the highest price ever paid for a drawing from any school.
Greece Downgrades May Hinder Banks Seeking ECB Loans
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Greek government bonds may not beeligible as collateral at the European Central Bank if the ECBreverts to pre-crisis rules in 2011, making it more difficultfor Greece to borrow money.
The credit rating on Greece’s government bonds wasyesterday cut by Fitch Ratings to BBB+ and the two other majorratings companies are threatening to follow suit. The ECBcurrently accepts bonds rated BBB- as collateral for loans afterrelaxing its rules in response to the financial crisis lastyear. At the end of 2010, it is due to revert to the old rules,under which A- is the minimum required rating.
“The banks are currently able to pledge bonds issued bytheir government as collateral at the ECB,” said Ben May, aneconomist at Capital Economics Ltd. in London. “This will nolonger be an option come the end of next year if the otherrating agencies follow Fitch’s lead.”
Woman's 911 call from Woods' home: 'Hurry up'
OCOEE, Fla. — A panicking woman calls 911 from Tiger Woods' Orlando-area home, telling the dispatcher that her mother had collapsed.
"Oh my God! Hurry up," the woman says as a child is heard crying in the background.
His mother-in-law, Barbro Holmberg, was rushed to a hospital early Tuesday with stomach pains. Although she was released about 11 hours later and returned to Woods' mansion, the event touched off the second media frenzy in two weeks surrounding the pro golfer's carefully guarded private life.
Hottest Plan at Climate Talks Never Got Onto Table
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The proposal drawing the mostattention and criticism at the United Nations climate-changetalks in Copenhagen never got put on the table.
The formula for slowing global warming, circulated byDenmark before the two-week negotiations started Dec. 7, hasgenerated a stir because Denmark is the host country for morethan 190 nations, striving to be neutral.
The plan, leaked more than a week ago, is flawed because itwas drawn up outside the UN process without input from poorernations, said Kim Carstensen, head of the global climateinitiative at environmental group WWF. UN climate chief Yvo deBoer issued a statement saying the paper is “informal” only.
Volkswagen Will Pay $2.5 Billion for 19.9% Stake in Japan's Suzuki Motor
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Volkswagen AG, Europe’s largestcarmaker, agreed to buy 19.9 percent of Suzuki Motor Corp. for222.5 billion yen ($2.5 billion) to boost its presence in India.
Suzuki, Japan’s fourth-biggest automaker, will spend asmuch as half of the amount it will receive from Volkswagen intoVW shares, Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen said in astatement today. The deal is subject to regulatory approval andwill probably be completed by January, the companies said.
The carmakers will focus on “achieving synergies” indeveloping and manufacturing energy-efficient small cars inemerging markets. Suzuki controls Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., themaker of half of the cars sold in India. VW is the second-biggest overseas automaker in China, which is set to surpass theU.S. as the world’s largest auto market this year.
Raphael drawing sells for $48M at UK auction
LONDON — Auctioneer Christie's says a drawing by Raphael has sold for about 29.2 million pounds ($47.5 million).
Christie's says the Italian virtuoso's work has won one of the highest prices ever paid for an Old Master at auction.
A portrait by Dutch master Rembrandt also fetched a high price, selling for 20 million pounds ($32.7 million).
No 'Pass' for Developing Countries in Next Climate Treaty, Says US Envoy
COPENHAGEN -- The top U.S. climate negotiator stressed today that the next international global warming agreement must include major commitments from a suite of fast-growing countries; otherwise, greenhouse gas emissions will go up too fast to solve the problem.
"If you care about the science -- and we do -- there's no way to solve this problem by giving the major developing countries a pass," State Department envoy Todd Stern told reporters during the third day of U.N. climate talks here. "We're not talking about the same kind of need for actions from the vast majority of developing countries. But the major ones, it's going to be absolutely essential."
Citing International Energy Agency data, Stern said U.S. emissions are peaking and will trend down over the next two decades, while 97 percent of the growth in greenhouse gases between now and 2030 will come from the developing world, with China contributing about half of that.
Volkswagen to Buy 20% of Suzuki to Boost India Sales
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Volkswagen AG, Europe’s largestcarmaker, agreed to buy 20 percent of Suzuki Motor Corp. for222.5 billion yen ($2.5 billion) to boost its presence in India.
The Wolfsburg, Germany-based automaker will pay for thestake in January, Suzuki said in a statement to the Tokyo StockExchange today. The Japanese automaker is the parent of MarutiSuzuki India Ltd., the maker of half of the cars sold in thecountry.
Volkswagen plans to expand in India, the world’s secondmost populous country, as job concerns stunt auto demand in theU.S. and Europe. The company is also the second-biggest overseasautomaker in China, which is set to surpass the U.S. as theworld’s largest auto market this year.
Audit Finds TARP Program Effective
WASHINGTON — The independent panel that oversees the government’s financial bailout program concluded in a year-end review that, despite flaws and lingering problems, the program “can be credited with stopping an economic panic.”
The Congressional Oversight Panel, which issued the report, was created in October 2008 by the same law that established the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. The panel has often been critical of the Treasury Department’s management of the bailout operation, especially at its start in the Bush administration but also under the Obama administration.
In the latest monthly report released on Wednesday, the panel again criticized the Treasury Department under Secretary Timothy F. Geithner for “failure to articulate clear goals or to provide specific measures of success for the program” as it has morphed over time from rescuing financial institutions to propping up securitization markets, auto manufacturers and home mortgages in danger of default. The panel also described the program’s foreclosure mitigation efforts as inadequate.
US Homeowners Lost $5.9 Trillion Since 2006 Peak, Zillow Says
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. homeowners have lost about $5.9trillion in value since the housing market peak in March 2006 asmounting foreclosures and the recession weighed on prices,according to Zillow.com.
Almost half a billion dollars was wiped out this yearthrough Nov. 30, as the market headed for a third straightannual decline. New foreclosures and higher mortgage rates in2010 may hinder a rebound, the property data service said todayin a statement.
“A phenomenal amount of wealth has been erased since thehousing bust,” Stan Humphries, chief economist for Seattle-based Zillow, said yesterday in an interview. “For manyhouseholds, most of their wealth is tied up in real estate.”
Pound Falls to Lowest in Almost Two Months on Dubai Concerns
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The pound fell to its lowest levelin almost two months against the dollar on concern Dubai’sstate-controlled companies will have to sell U.K. assets to payfor loan obligations.
The British currency weakened versus 15 of its 16 majorcounterparts after Moody’s Investors Service said yesterdaythat deteriorating public finances in the U.K. and the U.S. maytest their Aaa ratings. The yen reversed earlier gains onspeculation the Bank of Japan will take more credit-easingmeasures after a report showed the world’s second-largesteconomy grew less than earlier estimated in the third quarter.
“There are concerns that companies in Dubai, which arefalling behind on debt payments, may need to sell U.K.property,” said Yuji Saito, head of the foreign-exchange groupin Tokyo at Societe Generale SA. “Risk aversion is prevailing,so the dollar will probably be bought. The pound will likely besold.”
Dems agree to drop gov't-run insurance option
WASHINGTON — Democratic senators say they have a tentative deal to drop a government-run insurance option from health care legislation. No further details were immediately available.
But liberals and moderates have been discussing an alternative, including a private insurance arrangement to be supervised by the federal agency that oversees the system through which lawmakers purchase coverage. Additionally, talks centered on opening up Medicare to uninsured Americans beginning at age 55, a significant expansion of the large government health care program that currently serves the over-65 population.
Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa told reporters he didn't like the agreement but would support it to the hilt in an attempt to pass health care legislation.
Euro Near 5-Week Low on Concern More European Ratings to Be Cut
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The euro traded near a five-week lowagainst the dollar on speculation credit ratings of moreEuropean nations will be cut after Greece’s debt ranking waslowered by Fitch Ratings.
The pound was near its weakest level in almost two monthsversus the dollar on concern that Dubai’s state-controlledcompanies will have to sell U.K. assets to pay for loanobligations. The yen reversed earlier gains on speculation theBank of Japan will take more credit-easing measures after areport showed the economy expanded less than initially estimatedin the third quarter.
“There are worries more European countries’ sovereignratings will be downgraded,” said Yuji Saito, head of theforeign-exchange group in Tokyo at Societe Generale SA. “Thereare also concerns that companies in Dubai, which are fallingbehind on debt payments, may need to sell U.K. property. Riskaversion is prevailing, so the dollar will probably be boughtand the euro will likely be sold.”
Greece Downgrades May Pose Problem for Banks Getting ECB Loans
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Greek government bonds may not beeligible as collateral at the European Central Bank if the ECBreverts to pre-crisis rules in 2011, making it more difficultfor Greece to borrow money.
The credit rating on Greece’s government bonds wasyesterday cut by Fitch Ratings to BBB+ and the two other majorratings companies are threatening to follow suit. The ECBcurrently accepts bonds rated BBB- as collateral for loans afterrelaxing its rules in response to the financial crisis lastyear. At the end of 2010, it is due to revert to the old rules,under which A- is the minimum required rating.
“The banks are currently able to pledge bonds issued bytheir government as collateral at the ECB,” said Ben May, aneconomist at Capital Economics Ltd. in London. “This will nolonger be an option come the end of next year if the otherrating agencies follow Fitch’s lead.”
Leaked Climate Plan Favors Rich Nations, Groups Say
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The proposal drawing the mostattention and criticism at the United Nations climate-changetalks in Copenhagen never got put on the table.
The formula for slowing global warming, circulated byDenmark before the two-week negotiations started Dec. 7, hasgenerated a stir because Denmark is the host country for morethan 190 nations, striving to be neutral.
The plan, leaked more than a week ago, is flawed because itwas drawn up outside the UN process without input from poorernations, said Kim Carstensen, head of the global climateinitiative at environmental group WWF. UN climate chief Yvo deBoer issued a statement saying the paper is “informal” only.
