Reuters: Novartis (NYSE:NVS) will buy the part of Alcon (NYSE:ACL) that it does not currently own for $39 billion.
Reuters: JAL may receive a bailout from the Japanese government.
Reuters: The Fed defended it policies from before the recession and predicted slow economic growth.
Reuters: Kraft (NYSE:KFT) may raise its bid for Cadbury (NYSE:CBY) in the next two weeks.
Reuters: December retail sales probably rose but spring will probably be difficult.
WSJ: The number of brokers at major Wall St. firms is shrinking and they are losing clients to financial advisors.
WSJ: Bernanke said rate hikes may be an option to prevent bubbles.
WSJ: Some analysts are using demand for metals and railroads to gauge the recovery.
WSJ: The US faces credibility issues over shrinking the deficit and national debt.
WSJ: The government gave Delta (NYSE:DAL) the go ahead to finish the integration of NWA.
WSJ: Cinema ticket sales moved ahead of DVDs for the first time since 2002.
WSJ: Samsung reported higher LED TV sales.
WSJ: Car sales are likely to have moved up sharply in December.
WSJ: Broadcasters are closer to offering mobil TV.
WSJ: AMD (NYSE:AMD) will start to proved chips to Lenovo.
WSJ: Ad sales for magazines and newspapers moved up late in the year.
WSJ: Employers may have stopped firing people but they are unlikely to start hiring again.
WSJ: The coming week will be telling as the Treasury goes to the market for billions of dollars.
WSJ: Fifty-three IPO plans were filed in the fourth quarter.
WSJ: Japan is risking a third “lost decade.”
WSJ: Investors are reconsidering companies that were in trouble early last year.
NYT: Consumers are likely to pay higher cable bills as carriers pay more for content.
NYT: Hollywood is working on plans to allow consumers to buy or rent movies and play them on any consumer electronics device.
NYT: The apps business, so successful for the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone, is moving to much simpler handsets.
NYT: Skype will allow people to watch TV apart from one another and chat about shows.
NYT: Mittel (NYSE:MIT) will provide toys for the World Wrestling Federation.
FT: China and India are leading the Asia recovery.
FT: Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) will try to cut supply chain costs.
FT: A new category of devices, smartbooks, are going to threaten the growth of netbooks.
Bloomberg: Pimco is cutting Treasury holdings and getting cautious on corporate debt.
Bloomberg: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK) had its worst performance against the S&P in a decade.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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