plus 4, Dow at 13-month highs - CNN Money

Dow at 13-month highs - CNN Money
Ford Canada Accidentally Leaks Fiesta Photos -- Or Does It? - U.S. News Rankings & Reviews
Edmunds Publishes 2010 Editors' Most Wanted Awards - U.S. News Rankings & Reviews
Car Co Executive: Brazil Nov Sales To Break Record; 2009 Near 3 ... - NASDAQ
Bills fan gets snapshots - the buffalo bills

Posted: 01 Dec 2009 08:33 AM PST

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks rallied Tuesday as worries about Dubai's debt problems dissipated, housing and construction spending reports topped forecasts, and GE and Comcast moved closer to a deal on NBC Universal.

Investors also kept an eye on gold, which crossed the $1,200-an-ounce mark for the first time.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) added 120 points, or 1.2%, over two hours into the session, touching a 13-month high. The S&P 500 (SPX) index gained 11 points, or 1%, and reached a new 13-month high. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) rose 25 points, or 1.2% and remained short of a 13-month high hit a week ago.

Bank shares led a late-session advance Monday as investors bet Dubai's debt problems won't have a major impact on U.S. institutions. Such bets continued to support stocks Tuesday.

Dubai and world markets: Dubai World, the city-state's main investment arm, said it is in talks to restructure $26 billion in debt, cooling worries that it might go into default and wipe out the investment of its creditors.

Global markets slumped last week after the Dubai government asked to defer payments for at least six months on $60 billion in debt owed by Dubai World and Nakheel, its real estate arm.

Overseas markets surged, with London's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 all adding at least 1.7%. Asian markets rallied too, with Japan's Nikkei ending 2.4% higher.

Gold touches $1,200: COMEX gold for December delivery was up $18.90 to $1,200 an ounce, after rising as high as $1,202.70. It's the first time the precious metal has ever traded at this level.

Company news: AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) said it is wiping out $25 billion of its government debt by selling stakes in two of its life insurance subsidiaries to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Shares gained 7%.

General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) has reportedly reached a deal to buy Vivendi SA's 20% stake in NBC Universal for about $5.8 billion, moving GE closer to its goal of partnering with Comcast (CMCSA, Fortune 500) to create one of the largest U.S. media companies.

GE is looking to sell a 51% stake in NBC Universal to Comcast, while retaining a 49% stake in the company that is valued at around $30 billion.

ISM index: The November manufacturing index from the Institute for Supply Management fell to 53.6 from 55.7 in October, surprising economists who were looking for ISM to fall to 55. However, any reading over 50 implies expansion in the sector.

Pending home sales: Signed contracts to buy homes rose 3.7% in October, the ninth monthly increase in a row, according to a National Association of Realtors report released Tuesday. Pending home sales were expected to have fallen 1% after rising 6% previously.

Other economic news: Construction spending in October was unchanged, the government reported. Spending fell 1.6% in September and was expected to have fallen 0.5% in October, according to analysts' estimates.

Reports on auto and truck sales for the month of November are due later in the day.

President Obama is due to announce his strategy on Afghanistan in a speech Tuesday night from West Point.

The dollar and oil: The dollar fell versus the euro and gained against the yen.

U.S. light crude oil for January delivery rose $1.22 to $78.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Bonds: Treasury prices tumbled, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 3.24%, from 3.20% late Monday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

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Ford Canada Accidentally Leaks Fiesta Photos -- Or Does It? - U.S. News Rankings & Reviews

Posted: 01 Dec 2009 07:21 AM PST

The 2011 Ford Fiesta compact is set to debut at this week's L.A. Auto Show, but photos swirling around the internet have already taken the surprise out of the reveal. Several sources reported Monday that Ford Canada may have accidentally leaked photos of the U.S.-bound Fiesta.

However, after cross-referencing the photos with new Fiesta pictures from Ford's website, Autoblog reports the Ford Canada photos may not depict the new Fiesta after all. That's a good thing for Ford -- the original batch of photos, which depicted a large, blinged-out grille, received some negative reactions from the automotive press.

Autoblog explains: "The U.S.-style three-bar grille is thankfully not present in these official pics, though the hatch and sedan do wear different grilles (we like the hatch's version better, for what it's worth). The rest of the car remains as good-looking as the Euro-spec version ever did."

Auto critics are thankful that the U.S.-spec Fiesta remains similar to the popular model already sold in Europe. "Pictures show the minor changes that were done to the European-sourced Fiesta in order to meet US regulations, as well as minor cosmetic and option changes," says Left Lane News.

Expect more details on this much-anticipated economy car in the next few days. In the meantime, check out the U.S. News rankings of this year's best cars, as well as this month's best car deals.

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Edmunds Publishes 2010 Editors' Most Wanted Awards - U.S. News Rankings & Reviews

Posted: 01 Dec 2009 07:21 AM PST

Edmunds Inside Line has named six cars and trucks as the recipients of its Edmunds' 2010 Most Wanted awards. These awards are different than many in the automotive industry because, with the exception of the Instant Classic category, the winners don't have to fall into specific classes or price ranges.

"The other five winners are chosen in a free-form fashion," explains Edmunds Inisde Line. "In fact, every single car and truck on the market is eligible for all six slots. There's no price cap, and no nonsense about having to be a new model or a redesigned nameplate. Essentially, we could honor any car or truck we want."

According to Edmunds, 11 editors voted and a vehicle needed eight votes to win. The 2010 Editors' Most Wanted winners are:

2010 Porsche Panamera

2010 Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro

2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

2010 Mazda3

2010 Ford Flex

2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

With luxury brands like Audi and Porsche along with a Ford muscle car, these results aren't too surprising. However, it is impressive that Ford made the list three times – and even gets a nod for its retro-styled Flex family hauler. Last year's winners included domestic brands as well – namely, a Dodge and a Chevy -- but no Fords.

To see if Edmunds' Most Wanted picks fare as well in the U.S. News rankings, check out this year's best cars, as well as this month's best car deals.

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Car Co Executive: Brazil Nov Sales To Break Record; 2009 Near 3 ... - NASDAQ

Posted: 01 Dec 2009 07:36 AM PST

SAO PAULO -(Dow Jones)- Brazil car sales for November came in around 237,600 vehicles, an all-time high for November car sales and putting the industry in line to beat last year's total sales numbers, a car company executive with early access to monthly sales data said Tuesday.

Brazil sold 2,718,414 passenger vehicles from January to Nov. 30, according to the executive. When large commercial trucks and busses are included in the mix, vehicle sales for the year have totaled 2.84 million, the executive said, beating last year's figure of 2.82 million already.

Official sales data by the National Motor Vehicles Manufacturers Association, Anfavea, will be released Friday.

Brazil automotive sales have benefited from a mix of lower taxes, lower interest rates, and newer car models and upgrades from European makers Volkswagen (VOW.XE) and Fiat (FIATY). Next year, a series of new General Motors (GM.XX) car models will enter the market, with expectations already for another record breaking year in 2010.

-By Kenneth Rapoza, Dow Jones Newswires, 5511-2847-4541, kenneth.rapoza@ dowjones.com

 (END) Dow Jones Newswires 12-01-091030ET Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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Bills fan gets snapshots - the buffalo bills

Posted: 01 Dec 2009 05:48 AM PST

Mammoth Bills players, dancing Jills cheerleaders, exploding fireworks, animated fans and exciting pregame activities were some of the images that Brian Maher, 54, Getzville, NY tried to capture as the winner of the Buffalo Bills sideline photographer for a quarter promotion held by Quick Lane.

Maher won the opportunity to be the Bills sideline photographer for a quarter during the Bills vs. Miami Dolphins game on November 29th. He also received four seats to the game and four pre-game sideline passes as part of his prize.

Thousands of people registered, including over 1,600 fans at the Quick Lane Amherst store, for the once-in-a-lifetime chance to take live game photos on the field.

"After watching hundreds of games, it was fascinating to see everything that actually goes on down on the sidelines," said Maher. "Also, it is amazing how big the players are up close."

Maher saw information about the promotion in the lobby of the Quick Lane store in Amherst and is glad he did.

"I tried to get some good photos of the player introductions with the pyrotechnics," said Maher. "It was definitely a lot of fun. An excellent experience all around!"

Craig Muni, of Quick Lane, said that most people learned about the promotion from the Quick Lane website wnyquicklane.com and that the feedback from fans about the unique promotion was very positive.

In addition to the sideline photographer promotion with the Bills, Quick Lane runs a game day promotion called, "Quick Lane, Quick Score." When the Bills score within the final two minutes of either half, fans receive a discount on Quick Lane services.

Quick Lane® Tire and Auto Centers provides all car and truck services at over 520 stores nationwide. All services are performed by factory-trained experts and on the customer's schedule. No appointments are necessary and they service while you wait, including evenings and weekends. They take care of any make or model, use quality parts from trusted brands like Motor craft® and name-brand tires from Goodyear, Continental, Michelin and more. For more information, visit quicklane.com.

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