The market is freezing cold like the rest of us in Alberta

I am excited today. I will be headed to Vancouver for vacation. It’s freezing cold here in Fort McMurray and I am glad to get away for a few weeks. I am really looking forward to it. This was not an exciting week in the markets. I am really sensing something is going to happen in the new years. I am very hopeful that the market will jump.

I will be on holidays and I don’t know if I will be able to blog. I will try my best.

- COPENHAGEN – The largest and most important U.N. climate change conference in history opened Monday, with organizers warning diplomats from 192 nations that this could be the last, best chance for a deal to protect the world from calamitous global warming. Negotiations have dragged on for two years and only recently have shown signs of breakthroughs with new commitments from major emitters such as the United States, China and India to control greenhouse gas emissions. In a signal the Obama administration is prepared to act without congressional action, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it has concluded that greenhouse gases are endangering Americans' health and must be regulated. The two-week conference convened in an upbeat mood after a series of promises by rich and emerging economies to curb their greenhouse gases. Still, major issues have yet to be resolved. At stake is a deal that aims to wean the world away from fossil fuels and other pollutants to greener sources of energy, and to transfer hundreds of billions of dollars from rich to poor countries every year over decades to help them adapt to climate change.

- TEHRAN, Iran – Security forces and militiamen clashed with thousands of protesters shouting "death to the dictator" outside Tehran University on Monday, beating them with batons and firing tear gas on a day of nationwide student demonstrations, witnesses said. The rallies were the largest in months, bringing tens of thousands out on more than a dozen campuses around the country and in several major squares in Tehran as university students — a bedrock of support for the pro-reform movement — energized the opposition. The anti-government movement has been reeling under a fierce crackdown since turmoil erupted over the disputed presidential election in June. Thousands of riot police as well as forces of the elite Revolutionary Guard and their allied Basij militiamen flooded the area around Tehran University since the morning, trying to seal off the campus from the outside world and prevent unrest from spilling out into the streets. Authorities covered the tall fence around the university with banners and signs bearing slogans from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hiding whatever took place inside. Cell phone networks around the universities were shut down, and police and Revolutionary Guard surrounded entrances, checking IDs of anyone entering to bar opposition activists, witnesses said.

- WASHINGTON (AP) -- Despite some economic improvements, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Monday it's still too soon to declare that the budding recovery will last. "We still have some way to go before we can be assured that the recovery will be self sustaining," Bernanke said in remarks to the Economic Club of Washington. The Fed chief repeated his belief that the recovery will continue at least into next year. But he cautioned that the economy is confronting some "formidable headwinds" -- including a weak job market, cautious consumers and still-tight credit. Those forces "seem likely to keep the pace of expansion moderate," he said. Some private forecasters continue to worry that the recovery could fizzle late next year as government stimulus fades. A cautiously optimistic Bernanke said he expects "modest" economic growth next year. That should help push down the nation's unemployment rate -- now at 10 percent -- "but at a pace slower than we would like," he acknowledged. Under one Fed forecast released last month, the jobless rate would remain stubbornly high next year -- ranging from 9.3 to 9.7 percent. The Fed has warned that it could take five or six years for the job market to return to normal.

- FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – A howling winter storm barreled through the West, hitting the mountain states with snow and fierce winds as it headed toward the country's midsection on Tuesday. The far-reaching storm system stretched from California to Indiana, gathering strength as it raced eastward. Parts of Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin were bracing for blizzard conditions and up to 10 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service. "The storm system is really strengthening as it goes, and that's usually a recipe for some heavy snowfall and a lot of wind, and that's what we're watching for," said Mike Welvaert of the National Weather Service in La Crosse, Wis. The storm hit nearly all of the western mountain states on Monday, leaving places like Flagstaff and Reno, Nev., under a thick blanket of snow. Heavy rain raised fears of mudslides in wildfire-devastated Southern California, but no damage was reported. The weather system also snarled traffic and closed schools in Indiana, and crashes caused one death. In the Phoenix area, fierce wind brought down power lines, left four hospitals temporarily without power and created wide outages. At one point, some 250,000 customers were without power; by early Tuesday, that number was down to about 58,000, a spokesman for Arizona Public Service Co. said.

- LAHORE, Pakistan – Two synchronized bombs ripped through a market popular with women in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Monday, igniting a massive fire and killing at least 34 people, authorities said. Another attack by a suicide bomber killed 10 in the northwestern city of Peshawar, part of a wave of militant strikes in Pakistan as the army presses an offensive against a Taliban stronghold in the northwest close to the Afghan border. About 100 people were wounded in the attacks in Lahore, which were timed to take place when the Moon Market was as its busiest just before 9:00 p.m. Authorities initially said both were believed to be remote-controlled blasts but later said a suicide bomber was suspected to have carried out at least one of them. The blasts came within 30 seconds of each other, leaving dozens of cars and shops ablaze late into the night. Many victims were women and children, including a dead 2-year-old, a police officer said.

- SAN FRANCISCO – AOL is shaking loose from Time Warner Inc. and heading into the next decade the way it began this one, as an independent company. Unlike the 1990s, though, when AOL got rich selling dial-up Internet access, it starts the 2010s as an underdog, trying to beef up its Web sites and grab more advertising revenue. Despite a few bright spots in its portfolio of sites, such as tech blog Engadget, AOL has a long way to go until Web advertising can replace the revenue it still gets from selling dial-up Internet access. One especially popular property, entertainment site TMZ, is a joint venture with a Time Warner unit that will keep TMZ and its revenue after AOL splits off. Now investors are getting a chance to place bets on AOL. On Wednesday, Time Warner shareholders as of Nov. 27 will get one share of AOL for every 11 of their Time Warner shares. The next morning, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong is set to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, and AOL will begin trading under the ticker symbol of the same name — the one it had when it was known as America Online and used $147 billion worth of its inflated stock to buy Time Warner in 2001.

- LONDON (AFP) – Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged Monday to axe 3.0 billion pounds from public spending in extra savings to help cut the nation's debt. The premier, whose Labour government will announce taxation and spending plans in a pre-budget report Wednesday, outlined proposals to help achieve his aim of halving the public deficit over the next four years. Brown, tipped to lose next year's general election at the hands of the main opposition Conservatives, also warned that a "culture of excess" must change in the public sector. The government now hopes to save a total of 12 billion pounds through efficiency savings over the next four years. That is 3.0 billion pounds more than outlined in last April's annual budget. Under the proposals, Brown said he would seek to slash 20 percent from the senior civil service wages bill. Public sector salaries above 150,000 pounds and bonuses above 50,000 pounds would require ministerial approval.

- CINCINNATI (AP) -- The Kroger Co. reported Tuesday an $875 million loss in its third quarter, blaming tough price competition and the struggling California economy's hit on its grocery business. The nation's largest traditional grocery chain also cut its profit and sales forecast for the full year, with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and club stores such as Costco Wholesale Corp sharpening industry price-cutting efforts to lure recession-pinched grocery shoppers. Kroger shares plummeted 12 percent in early trading, down $2.85 to $20. Kroger took a $1.05 billion writedown on the Ralphs division it acquired a decade ago, saying the 263-store group in California has been battered by the state's rising double-digit unemployment and housing slump. Kroger reported a loss of $1.35 a share, compared with profit of $237.7 million, or 36 cents a share, a year ago. Sales rose less than 1 percent to $17.7 billion. Without the Ralphs writedown, profit would have been $176.7 million, or 27 cents. Analysts expected 36 cents a share on $17.7 billion.

- FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – A large and powerful storm howled across the West with snow and strong winds Monday, snarling traffic, closing schools and threatening to spawn mudslides in wildfire-devastated Southern California. Virtually the entire region was suffering — from subzero wind chills in Washington state to heavy snow that closed schools and government offices in Reno, Nev., and left big rigs jackknifed across highways in several states. Blizzard warnings were in effect for northern Arizona and parts of Colorado, with forecasters predicting up to 2 feet of snow around Flagstaff. The National Weather Service said the upper elevations of the Sierra mountains could get up to 3 feet of snow, with up to 4 feet forecast for the mountains of southern Utah. Even the hills east of San Francisco Bay received a rare dusting overnight, and snow was predicted for Fresno and other communities in California's Central Valley.

- WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is setting out fresh plans to reinvigorate the U.S. economy, focusing on incentives to small businesses and hiring to bring down the country's 10 percent unemployment rate. Senior administration officials say Obama will be looking to push money left over from the Troubled Asset Relief Programs toward the small business community for hiring. Additional funds also would be sought for infrastructure improvements and rebates to consumers who make their homes more energy efficient. The officials spoke Tuesday shortly before Obama was to detail his plans in a speech at the Brookings Institution think tank.

- Oil drops to near $73 as traders watch US dollar
Oil prices dropped to near $73 a barrel Tuesday after a strengthening U.S. dollar extended a four day sell-off in crude to two-month lows. By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for January delivery was down 64 cents to $73.29 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.54 to settle at $73.93 on Monday. The dollar, boosted by a better than expected U.S. jobs report last week, helped push oil prices out of a two-month range of between $75 and $82. Investors have been buying crude as a hedge against inflation as the dollar has slid this year amid massive government stimulus spending and low interest rates. When the dollar rises, traders tend to sell their positions in oil.

- BAGHDAD – A series of coordinated attacks struck Baghdad Tuesday, including two suicide car bombers and another vehicle that blew up near government sites. At least 118 were killed and hundreds wounded in the worst wave of violence in the capital in more than a month, authorities said. A total of five attacks, which also included a suicide car bomb on a police patrol, showed the ability of insurgents to strike high-profile targets in the heart of Baghdad and marked the third time since August that government buildings were targeted with multiple blasts that brought massive bloodshed. The bombings reinforced concerns about shortcomings in Iraqi security as U.S. forces plan their withdrawal, and parliament held an emergency session with many lawmakers demanding answers for apparent security lapses. Iraq's military spokesman blamed the carnage on an alliance of al-Qaida in Iraq and members of Saddam Hussein's banned Baath Party. The U.S. military has sent some troops and forensic equipment to assist the Iraqis in the aftermath, said Army Master Sgt. Nicholas Conner, a military spokesman. Overall violence has dropped sharply around Iraq in the past year, though insurgents have stepped up attacks at government sites in recent months. The bombings marked the most serious spate of violence in Baghdad since twin car bombs on Oct. 25 struck outside government offices, killing at least 155. In August, suicide bombers hit the finance and foreign ministries, killing more than 100.

- RIO DE JANEIRO – Police in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo have killed more than 11,000 people in the past six years, many execution-style, according to a report released Tuesday by Human Rights Watch. Few of the officers have been charged in the extrajudicial killings, which are often labeled in police reports as the deaths of suspects who resisted arrest, the report said. The 122-page declaration echoes a 2008 United Nations' finding that police throughout Brazil were responsible for a "significant portion" of 48,000 slayings the year before. "Extrajudicial killing of criminal suspects is not the answer to violent crime," said Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "The residents of Rio and Sao Paulo need more effective policing, not more violence from the police." Isabel Figueiredo, Brazil's coordinator-general of human rights and public safety, acknowledged that police violence is a widespread problem and "it concerns the federal government a great deal." Figueiredo said authorities have launched a series of initiatives to confront the problem, including training police to respect human rights and the appropriate use of force, in addition to the purchase of less-lethal weapons for state police forces. Security forces "have begun to understand that instead of solving the problem, confronting criminals with weapons leads to casualties on both sides," she said. Officials from the Rio and Sao Paulo police departments did not comment.

LONDON (AP) -- World markets mostly rose Monday after Dubai said it had received $10 billion in emergency funds from its oil-rich neighbor Abu Dhabi, helping to ease investor fears that the emirate will default on its debt. In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 50.05 points, or 1 percent, at 5,311.62 while Germany's DAX rose 53.93 points, or 1 percent, to 5,811.97. The CAC-40 in France was 21.02 points, or 0.6 percent, higher at 3,824.74. The advance is expected to continue when Wall Street opens -- Dow futures were up 46 points, or 0.4 percent, at 10,469 while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 futures rose 6.1 points, or 0.6 percent, at 1,109.30. The gains came after Dubai government said the financing would help pay off $4.1 billion in debts owed by struggling Dubai World's property division and due Monday. The rest would go toward bills and expenses through April. The news cheered investors, who had feared the consequences of Dubai World defaulting. Since the state-owned company announced its intention last month to delay payment on its $60 billion in debts, investors have braced for more financial turmoil and been forced to reevaluate their assumptions about government promises to make good on debts. "The first reaction has been to view this as a crisis averted, and 'risk friendly' trades are benefiting," said Kit Juckes, chief economist at ECU Group.

- (CNN) -- A major sponsor for Tiger Woods announced Sunday that it is dropping the golf star in light of recent controversy swirling around his personal life. Accenture, a management consulting firm, said on its Web site that "given the circumstances of the last two weeks ... the company has determined that he is no longer the right representative for its advertising." The move ends a sponsorship arrangement that lasted six years. Another major sponsor, Gillette, said Saturday it was "limiting" Woods' role in its marketing programs to give him the privacy to work on family relationships. Woods announced on his own Web site Friday that he is taking an "indefinite break" from professional golf. The 33-year-old golfer, who tops the sport's world rankings, has been mired in controversy since he crashed his car outside his Florida mansion late last month. In the week following the crash, Woods apologized for "transgressions" that let his family down, and US Weekly magazine published a report alleging that Woods had an affair with a 24-year-old cocktail waitress named Jaimee Grubbs. "After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father and person," Woods said in his Friday statement.

- NEW YORK (AP) -- Citigroup Inc. said Monday it is repaying $20 billion in bailout money it received from the Treasury Department, freeing the banking giant from the close scrutiny and pay restrictions that came with the rescue program. The government will also sell its stake in the company. The New York-based bank was among the hardest hit by the credit crisis and rising loan defaults and got one of the largest bailouts of any banks during the financial crisis. The government gave it $45 billion in loans and agreed to protect losses on nearly $300 billion in risky investments. Wells Fargo & Co. remains the last national bank that has yet to pay back its bailout money. Citi is selling $20.5 billion in stock and debt to repay the government. It only has to pay back $20 billion because the remaining $25 billion was converted into a 34 percent ownership stake in the bank earlier this year. The government plans to sell that entire stake -- which has risen in value by more than 20 percent -- during the next year. The loss-sharing agreement will also end as part of the plan. The Treasury Department is in line to earn about $13 billion in profit on its support for Citigroup depending on how much it makes selling the stock, said a Treasury official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of President Barack Obama's meeting with bank officials. After repaying the funds, Citi will no longer be subject to pay restrictions and other conditions of the bailout program. However, the repayment comes at a heavy cost. Raising the new capital will significantly dilute current shareholders' stake in the company. Citi's shares fell 25 cents, or 6.3 percent, to $3.70 in morning trading Monday.

Will Santa be good to us?

The market is doing a lot of up and downs over the last few months. The start of the month does not look that great to me. I am not too sure what C, FNM, CEMJQ, and OPC is not moving with the market as it was the case in the past. This is a puzzle to me. I am totally clueless. I am hoping for something which is not here yet. I am still optimistic about this market. I am sure the market will make a run, I just don’t know when.

What a terrible week and even worst weekend. I am looking forward to my trip. I just can’t wait to go to Vancouver. I guess I will have to wait another week. This will be really good for my wife. I think she will enjoy the trip.

- NEW YORK (AP) -- The economic recovery seems on track for slow but steady gains, after reports Tuesday showed growth in manufacturing activity, construction spending and contracts to buy homes. Private measure of manufacturing activity grew for the fourth straight month in November, though more slowly than in October. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, said its index read 53.6, down from 55.7 in October. A reading above 50 indicates growth. Economists were especially encouraged that new orders -- a gauge of future production -- jumped October. That suggested that manufacturing can continue to help sustain the budding recovery. A report on construction spending also signaled growth with the first increase in six months, largely on the strength of home building. The increase was slight -- just 0.04 percent. And in part it reflected a rush by builders to begin work before the expiration of a tax credit for first-time homebuyers. The credit was extended last month and expanded to some existing homeowners. Still, the increase appeared to signal that the construction sector is stabilizing and providing support for the fledgling economic recovery. A third positive report said the number of homebuyers who signed contracts to buy previously occupied homes rose for the ninth straight month. This increase, too, came as buyers rushed to take advantage of the homebuyer tax credit.

- DETROIT – General Motors Co. CEO Frederick "Fritz" Henderson stepped down Tuesday after the board determined that the company wasn't changing quickly enough. Chairman Ed Whitacre Jr. said at a hastily called news conference that he will serve as interim CEO, and an international search for a new CEO and president is planned. Whitacre thanked Henderson for his work during a period of challenge and change, but said it is time to accelerate the pace of rebuilding the largest U.S. automaker. The resignation comes just eight months after Henderson, 51, replaced former chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner, who was ousted March 29 by the Obama administration's government's auto task force. Henderson has been with GM his entire career and was the government's choice to run the beleaguered company after Wagoner left. Whitacre, picked by the government in June to be chairman of the new GM, is considered an industry outsider, having run AT&T Inc. for 17 years.

- PRETORIA, South Africa – South Africa announced ambitious new plans Tuesday for earlier and expanded treatment for HIV-positive babies and pregnant women, a change that could save hundreds of thousands of lives in the nation hardest hit by the virus that causes AIDS. President Jacob Zuma — once ridiculed for saying a shower could prevent AIDS — was cheered as he outlined the measures on World AIDS Day. The new policy marks a dramatic shift from former President Thabo Mbeki, whose health minister distrusted drugs developed to keep AIDS patients alive and instead promoted garlic and beet treatments. Those policies led to more than 300,000 premature deaths, a Harvard study concluded. The changes are in line with new guidelines issued a day earlier by the World Health Organization that call for HIV-infected pregnant women to be given drugs earlier and while breast-feeding. By treating all HIV-infected babies, survival rates should also improve for the youngest citizens in South Africa, one of only 12 countries where child mortality has worsened since 1990, in part due to AIDS.

- WASHINGTON (AP) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner affirmed Wednesday the administration's intent to soon end the $700 billion financial bailout program. Geithner did not provide details, but said the government is close to the point at which "we can wind down this program" and end it. "Nothing would make me happier," he told the Senate Agriculture Committee. Some lawmakers have been agitating for an exit from the politically unpopular bailout program, approved by Congress at the height of the financial crisis in October 2008 as a way to supply banks with fresh capital. Geithner also said legislation to bring transparency to the global, unregulated $600 trillion derivatives market was needed soon to restore confidence in the U.S. financial system. Across the Capitol, meanwhile, a key House panel voted to slap new restraints on big Wall Street banks and to demand greater openness from the Federal Reserve. That cleared a significant hurdle in the drive for a sweeping overhaul of financial regulations, including the new derivatives restraints, and set the stage for a vote by the full House next week.
- NEW YORK (AP) -- ConocoPhillips said Wednesday it plans to slash its 2010 capital spending by 10 percent as it tries to shore up cash amid plunging profits. The nation's third-largest oil company intends to spend $11.2 billion on capital projects in 2010, 10 percent below its estimated spending in 2009. In its third-quarter report given in late October, ConocoPhillips forecast a 2010 budget of $11 billion. In 2010, about 86 percent of its capital program will support ConocoPhillips' exploration and production segment, while its hard-hit refining and marketing segment represents about 12 percent of the program, the Houston-based company said. "We intend to achieve our objectives of organically replacing reserves and increasing our upstream production from a reduced, more strategic asset base, consistent with our recently announced portfolio optimization plan," said Jim Mulva, CEO of ConocoPhillips. The Houston-based company previously said it would cut capital expenditures and shed $10 billion in assets to help pay off debt and improve its cash position amid sagging profits.

- TORONTO (Reuters) – Canadian health officials said on Wednesday that the H1N1 flu outbreak might have reached its peak in Canada, but cautioned that the fight is not yet over. David Butler-Jones, Canada's chief public health officer, said that while some areas of the country have displayed reduced incidents of swine flu, other regions have seen an uptick in cases in recent weeks. "We are trying to be very careful when using the term 'the peak'. We won't know we have reached a peak in flu activity until we are clearly on the other side of it," he said during a conference call. "Passing a peak in activity doesn't mean we decrease our concern. Coming down the mountain is as treacherous as climbing it," he added. Both Butler-Jones and Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, reiterated the need for all Canadians to be immunized, noting that only about one-third of Canadian are immune to the disease because they have been vaccinated or have already been infected by the H1N1 pandemic virus. "If the vast majority of Canadians get immunized we will not see much of this disease moving forward," said Butler-Jones. The World Health Organization said last month that the H1N1 flu was moving eastward across Europe and Asia after appearing to peak in parts of Western Europe and the United States. At least 6,770 deaths have been recorded worldwide since the swine flu virus emerged in April -- but officials always stress the confirmed numbers represent only a fraction of the actual cases, as most patients never get tested.

- MOGADISHU, Somalia – A male suicide bomber dressed as a woman attacked a graduation ceremony Thursday in a small part of the capital still under government control, killing 22 people, including three Cabinet ministers, doctors and medical students. The attack was a severe blow to a country long battered by war and underscored the government's tenuous hold even on its small area of Mogadishu. African Union peacekeeping troops protecting the government wage near daily battles with Islamic militants who hold much of central and southern Somalia and act so brazenly in the capital that they carry out public executions. "What happened today is a national disaster," said Somali Information Minister Dahir Mohamud Gelle, who confirmed that the ministers for education, higher education and health were killed in the blast. The ministers for sports and tourism were wounded in the attack inside the Shamo Hotel, he said. The assailants hit one of Somalia's most important efforts to extricate itself from anarchy and violence, explaining the presence of so many top government officials. The former medical students among the graduates came from only the second class to receive diplomas from the medical school.

- NEW YORK (AP) -- The nation's retailers posted a surprise sales decline for November after two consecutive months of gains, as a modestly positive start to holiday shopping wasn't strong enough to offset weak spending the rest of the month. The 0.3 percent decrease, according to one measure, is especially worrisome because it comes on top of a freefall last November as spooked shoppers went into a defensive crouch after the financial meltdown. Analyst had expected a strong gain. Analysts caution that a better gauge of the month may lie in government retail sales numbers, slated to be released Dec. 11. The numbers offer a broader view of spending, including online sales and results from electronics chains -- two bright spots for the holiday season, analysts said. Thursday's figures also don't include Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer. Warm weather also was a factor in depressing shoppers' appetite for seasonal apparel like coats and sweaters, analysts said. Nevertheless, most retailers' sluggish results missed already modest forecasts, a worrisome sign for an economy in the early stages of a fragile recovery. Now, merchants may have to step up discounting beyond what's planned as they try to entice financially strapped shoppers back to the stores in a season that is at best expected to be unchanged from a year ago.

- DUBLIN – A major Irish order of Roman Catholic nuns, the Sisters of Mercy, offered Thursday to pay child abuse victims, the government and charities a further euro128 million ($193.5 million) to compensate for decades of abuse in its schools and orphanages. The compensation offer to the Irish Education Department is by far the largest from 18 orders of Catholic priests, brothers and nuns found guilty of chronic child abuse. They ran scores of residential schools, workhouses and orphanages for generations of Ireland's most deprived children from the mid-19th century to the 1990s. The Sisters of Mercy said in a statement it "wholeheartedly regrets the suffering experienced by the children in their care" and hoped this latest offer would show that its nuns were being "faithful to the values of reparation, reconciliation, healing and responsibility." A nine-year state investigation in May ruled that all the orders permitted and covered up endemic rape, molestation, beatings and mental cruelty in their children's institutions. The government responded by demanding that the orders pay much more to help cover compensation payments to more than 14,000 abuse claimants worldwide topping euro1 billion ($1.5 billion).

- Bangladesh ferry death toll rises
At least 49 people have been killed and scores are missing following a ferry accident in the south of Bangladesh. MV Coco-4, which was carrying more than 1,000 people, was travelling overnight from Dhaka, the capital, to Bhola island on the country's southern tip when it sank close to the village of Nazirpura. Zakir Hossain, a police chief at the village which lies 250km south of Dhaka, said the death toll was likely to rise as dozens of people were believed to be trapped in cabins and in the hold under water. Local media reported the ferry started taking in water after it hit a raised section of the river bed in heavy fog on Friday. Amid the commotion of hundreds of passengers trying to disembark, a stampede ensued which caused the ferry to tip and take in water.

- PARIS - The decision by Swiss voters to ban minarets on Muslim houses of worship resonated across neighboring France on Monday, stoking an already emotional debate on whether burkas should be banned in public and coloring a government-sponsored debate over what it means to be French. Commentators and officials in France and across Europe took sides Monday on the surprise Swiss decision, passed in a referendum the previous day. French lawmakers who support banning the burka, the all-covering garment worn by some Muslim women, defended themselves against accusations that the move would fuel a growing phobia against Islam in Europe. French Socialist Party spokesman Benoit Hamon said the Swiss decision in effect blamed Muslims for "all of Western society's ills," and compared it to the three-month-long public debates on French identity spearheaded by conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy. "I regret that the president is surrendering himself to this type of stigmatization of foreigners and immigrants by associating national identity and immigration," Hamon said on RTL French radio. Immigration Minister Eric Besson, who is organizing the nationwide debates, said the Swiss ban on minarets stigmatized Islam. Instead, he said, "We need to favor the emergence of a French Islam that integrates into the values of the republic." He added that trying to ban the burka was not comparable because "it affects a woman's dignity." In comments to French media, Xavier Bertrand, general secretary of Sarkozy's political party, referred to the burka as a "prison."

- NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks gave up some of their early gains as investors, seeing a brighter employment picture as a sign of economic strength, worry about higher interest rates. Major stock indexes turned mixed Friday as news that employers cut fewer jobs in November has investors thinking the Federal Reserve could hike rates or remove other supports from the economy sooner than expected. Treasurys and gold fell as demand for safe-haven investments eased. The prospects of increased rates lifted the dollar. That, in turn, ate into an early surge in stocks and commodities including oil. The Labor Department said the economy shed 11,000 jobs last month, the smallest monthly loss since December 2007. That's much better than the 130,000 losses Wall Street economists expected and also an improvement from the 111,000 cuts in October. The unemployment rate fell to 10 percent from 10.2 percent in October, a 26-year high. Economists had expected the rate to remain unchanged. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said orders to U.S. factories posted a surprise jump in October as demand jumped for aircraft and energy. Orders rose 0.6 percent in October, better than the flat reading that economists had expected. It was the sixth increase in seven months.

- OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada's economy added far more jobs than expected in November, more than erasing the losses in October and suggesting stronger fourth-quarter growth as predicted by the Bank of Canada. Statistics Canada reported on Friday a net employment gain of 79,000 in November, beating analysts' expectations of a 15,000 gain. The unemployment rate edged lower to 8.5 percent from 8.6 percent in October. "It's all good. Obviously the headline was a shocker. Some of it came in the part-time and it was a bit of a bounce from the previous month. But most of the details were supportive," said Mark Chandler, head of fixed-income and currency strategy at RBC Capital Markets. The Canadian dollar rose to C$1.0458 to the U.S. dollar after the report from around C$1.0530 just before the data was released. Analysts said the strong details in the report point to a pickup in economic growth in the fourth quarter after a tepid 0.4 percent annualized growth rate in the third quarter, the first rise after a recession lasting three quarters. Still, the Bank of Canada is likely to hold its benchmark interest rate at an all-time low of 0.25 percent at its next meeting on December 8. It is also expected to stick to its pledge to keep rates there until at least the end of June, conditional on inflation staying on track.
- MOSCOW – Russian news agencies say an explosion apparently caused by pyrotechnics tore through a nightclub in the city of Perm, killing 76 people. Emergency officials quoted by state-run news agency RIA-Novosti say the cause was pyrotechnics, but did not specify if the explosives were being used in a show at the club or if they were in storage. RIA Novosti and other agencies cited unnamed sources in the police and local branch of the emergency ministry as saying preliminary figures show 76 people died. There were about 200 people in the club at the time of the blast early Saturday, ITAR-Tass reported, citing a police source. Perm is about 700 miles (1,200 kilometers) east of Moscow.

- RAWALPINDI, Pakistan – A Taliban suicide squad targeted Pakistani military officers and their families praying at a mosque Friday close to army headquarters in a gruesome display of the militants' ability to strike at the center of power in this U.S.-allied, nuclear-armed nation. The barrage of bombs and bullets left 37 people dead, including seven senior officers and 17 children. The deaths of so many top brass inside a heavily fortified area a few miles from the capital was a major coup for the Pakistani insurgents, who are under pressure as the army pushes an offensive against their stronghold of South Waziristan along the Afghan border. Friday's carnage also dramatized the risks Pakistan faces if it steps up its support for the United States in the war against Islamic extremists on its side of the border with Afghanistan. President Barack Obama believes Pakistan is a key partner in that war, but critics contend that Pakistan, hedging its bets in the event the Taliban eventually regain power in Kabul, has held back against Afghan insurgents who use the lawless border region as a safe haven.

- DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Dubai World may unload some assets to raise cash, a senior government official said, reflecting a potential about face for the heavily-indebted conglomerate behind much of Dubai's boom. Dubai Finance Department Director-General Abdul Rahman al-Saleh did not say which pieces of the company are for sale. However, he emphasized that the assets in question would be Dubai World's alone -- underscoring the government's position that it is not responsible for debts racked up by a company it created and backed during the city-state's boom years. "Like any company that has commitments, part of getting liquidity is selling some assets. Of course local or foreign assets," he said in an interview aired by al-Jazeera Monday. A Dubai World spokeswoman declined to comment. The sale of any major Dubai World holdings would mark a stark change for the conglomerate, which repeatedly downplayed questions it would need to unload pieces of its global empire even as Dubai's financial concerns grew more acute over the past year. The company's roughly $60 billion in debt came from a multi-year building and buying spress fueled by access to cheap loans.