AOL (NYSE: AOL) may break itself into pieces in preparation for a potential merger with Yahoo! (NASDAQ YHOO). (Reuters)

Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, told “60 Minutes” that the central bank could increase its bond purchases beyond QE2. (Reuters)

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) appointed a new CEO (Reuters)

Oil hit a two-year high as the norther tiers of most of the world posted cold temperatures early in December. (Reuters)

The Indian government had begun to ask companies for secure conversations among employees on their Research In Motion (NASDAQ RIMM) BlackBerries. (WSJ)

Ebay’s (NASDAQ: EBAY) PayPal has cut off the contributions to WikiLeaks which use the online payment system. (Reuters)

Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) may be Riversdale for $3.5 billion. (Reuters)

Massey (NYSE: MEE) may try to buy another coal company. (WSJ)

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) will buy security software company Widevine. (Reuters)

The Administration and Congress are close to an arrangement which would extend jobless benefits and tax cuts. (WSJ)

The Madoff trustee has sued HSBC (NYSE: HBC) for $9 billion. (WSJ)

Trouble in the bond market has pushed investors into stocks .(WSJ)

Banks hope to profit from pre-paid credit cards. (WSJ)

Zenith Optimedia says advertising spending continues to grow. (WSJ)

Facebook launched a new profile page design. (WSJ)

More and more premium content delivery companies view Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) as a competitor. (WSJ)

Republicans in Congress will try to avoid a bailout of state and municipal pension funds. (WSJ)

The Chinese government ordered a hack into Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) computers in the People’s Republic. (WSJ)

GE (NYSE: GE) will soon be told if its has a greater role in the clean-up of the Hudson River. (WSJ)

IBM (NYSE: IBM) has begun to offer free serviced in the developing work to build its business. (WSJ)

GDP growth in Germany may be slower in 2011 and 2012 which will make its ability to help with euro zone nation harder. (WSJ)

There is more pressure on euro zone nations to increase the size of their nearly $1 trillion bailout fund. (NYT)

ESPN used a Nielsen survey to show that almost no one has canceled cable service in the last quarter. (NYT)

Funding for public broadcasting has dropped sharply. (NYT)

The head of American Express (NYSE: AXP) wants a task force to address the US employment problem. (FT)

Ireland will rapidly shrink its banks. (FT)

EU officials are at odds over the size and function of the area’s bailout funds. (Bloomberg)

The S&P 500 is up 20% from its July low. (Bloomberg)

A survey of economists by Bloomberg show most think the worst problems in Europe are not over. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

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