According to Reuters, housing prices had a record annual drop.

Reuters writes that Sallie Mae (SLM) will raise $2.5 billion using stock and convertible notes.

Reuters writes that Joseph Lewis has increased his stake in Bear Stearns (BSC) to over 9.5%.

Reuters reports that News Corp (NWS) has set a deal with Apple (AAPL) to rent its movied through the iTunes store.

Reuters reports that Amazon (AMZN) had its strongest holiday season ever.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Davis Selected Advisers has bought an interest in MBIA (MBI) causing the stock to rise.

The Wall Street Journal writes that home equity missteps are likely to make this a bad year for Wells Fargo (WFC).

The New York Times writes that, in China, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation and Nanjing Automobile Corporation will put together their auto making assets.

The New York Times writes that oil is back to $96 on fear of high demand.

The FT writes that a few companies including Google (GOOG) may have pushed their share prices higher due to smart M&A deals.

Barron’s writes that solar stocks moved up sharply on an anticipated demand for cheap alternative energy.

Bloomberg writes that Goldman Sachs (GS) is predicting that Citigroup (C) may cut its dividend 40% and write-off $18.7 billion related to collateralized debt obligations in the fourth quarter.

CNN Money writes that retail stores could take in $60 billion in the week after Christmas

Douglas A. McIntyre

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