The heated competition between Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is expected to heighten next year. (Reuters)

The government of China says the antibiotics used in Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) chicken products are within proper guidelines. (Reuters)

Google may be working on an X Phone and X Tablet to enter the portable smart device markets. (Reuters)

Fewer banks are passing on the credit created by the Fed to consumers. (WSJ)

Japan may weaken the value of the yen and begin what could be a currency war. (WSJ)

Norway’s $682 billion oil fund may begin to invest in U.S. properties. (WSJ)

Federal Reserve data shows household debt at a recent low, which may help people spend more of their paychecks on consumer products. (WSJ)

Sales of guns at gun shows surge on fears the federal government will tighten laws. (WSJ)

France’s President François Hollande sets a plan to subsidize youth employment. (WSJ)

Web 2.0 firms such as Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) and Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) begin to lose value, making funding more difficult. (WSJ)

Weak overseas demand drives down corn’s value. (WSJ)

Sales of Microsoft Corp.’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows 8 are off to a tepid start. (NYT)

An expected e-book price war has not begun. (NYT)

Toymaker sales are pressured by tablet PC sales. (FT)

The Big Three U.S. car companies start to work on travel alternatives to cars and light trucks to hedge their businesses as traditional vehicle sales fall. (FT)

Trade data shows more weakness in the U.K. recovery. (Bloomberg)

U.K. retail sales falter along with consumer confidence. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

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