Happy New Year 2010

Another new year and a new hope to the future. 2009 had been interesting. Some of us want to forget and some one wants to remember the year. I am glad that we survived through a lot of ups and downs. I have learnt a lot from 2009 and hopefully will be able to apply the knowledge in the future.

I had a great vacation in Vancouver, a much needed break. We really enjoyed Steve and May’s company. I am hoping that this is the beginning of a long lasting friendship. We did a lot of good eating. We really appreciated that May did so much for us. We hope to visit again very soon.

I had a great weekend. My wife was just awesome. I am so glad that she is feeling so great. We had so much fun. She felt and looked great. I am really happy and hopeful that we will have a healthy baby.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock market has extended its 2009 rally into the new year. Major stock indexes surged more than 1.5 percent Monday after improving news on manufacturing from China to the U.S. pointed to a strengthening global economy. The Dow Jones industrial average picked up 156 points. A U.S. trade group said manufacturing activity expanded faster than expected in December. The Institute for Supply Management's index of manufacturing activity rose to 55.9 from 53.6 in November, more than analysts had expected. Overseas markets had started out higher on news that China's manufacturing industry expanded last month at the fastest rate in 20 months. There were also positive signs on manufacturing activity in Europe. A monthly purchasing managers' index for the 16 countries that use the euro rose to a 21-month high, and a similar survey for Britain rose to a 25-month high. Meanwhile a weakening dollar boosted commodities prices, lifting energy and materials stocks. An analyst's upgrade of semiconductor maker Intel Corp. sent technology shares higher.

-PARIS (AP) -- Airbus on Tuesday increased pressure on European governments to give it more money for the troubled A400M military transport plane, saying it is considering scrapping the project just weeks after its maiden flight. The plane is running at least three years late and over budget. The seven customer governments agreed to re-negotiate the original contract, which Airbus CEO Tom Enders has slammed for being badly drawn up and making the planemaker shoulder too much of the cost overruns. EADS, Airbus' parent, hopes governments will either pay more for the planes or reduce the number of planes on order. Other options include reducing the specifications, or spreading increased payments out over time.

- WASHINGTON (AP) The number of people preparing to buy a home fell sharply in November, an unsettling new sign that the housing market may be headed for a "double-dip" downturn over the winter. The figures Tuesday came after a similarly discouraging report on new home sales, illustrating how heavily the housing market depends right now on government help. In October, buyers raced to get contracts signed in time to take advantage of a tax credit for first-time homeowners that was set to expire. It has since been extended into spring -- and now prospective buyers are taking their time. The National Association of Realtors said its seasonally adjusted index of sales contracts fell 16 percent from October to November, ending nine months of gains. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected only a 2 percent drop. "This was bound to happen at some point, although not by this much," wrote Jennifer Lee, senior economist with BMO Capital Markets. She added: "Gulp." When the tax credit expires this spring and the government phases out programs to keep mortgage rates low, the housing market will have to stand on its own. Many economists doubt it can. "We're just going to languish at the bottom," said Anna Piretti, senior economist at BNP Paribas. The last housing downturn helped drag the nation into the worst recession in decades. The expected dip in home sales and prices this winter appears to pose less of a threat to the broader economy.

- NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors turned cautious on the second trading day of the year as a pair of economic reports gave mixed signals about how the recovery was going. Major stock indexes ended little changed a day after the Dow Jones industrials soared more than 150 points on upbeat manufacturing reports in the U.S. and China. Uncertainty over key reports this week on employment and the service industry also kept buyers at bay. The economic news on Tuesday was muddled. The Commerce Department reported that factory orders rose by more than twice what had been expected in November, reflecting demand in the steel, computer and chemical industries. The gain of 1.1 percent easily beat the 0.5 percent forecast of analysts polled Thomson Reuters. Meanwhile, the number of buyers who agreed to purchase previously occupied homes fell sharply in November, an indication that sales will fall this winter. The National Association of Realtors said its index of pending home sales fell 16 percent, the first drop after nine months of gains. Some decline had been expected as investors raced to buy homes ahead of a tax credit deadline, which was later extended.

- MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) -- Google Inc. began selling its own mobile phone Tuesday, a much-anticipated move aimed at protecting its online advertising empire as people increasingly surf the Web on handsets instead of personal computers. The Nexus One joins about 20 other mobile devices that already run on Android, the mobile operating system that Google introduced in 2007 to make it easier to connect to its services and other Web sites away from home or the office. Google designed the touch-screen phone in partnership with Taiwan's HTC Corp., which made the first Android-powered phone and will manufacture this one, too. Google will handle all sales online and has no plans to let consumers check out the Nexus One in retail stores. The Nexus One has been in the hands of Google employees for the past three weeks, triggering media speculation and anticipation for the company's first attempt to peddle a consumer electronics device. Given the hype, the Nexus One could be a bit of a letdown because it only takes a few incremental steps beyond what's already possible on handheld devices. And the Nexus One's standard sales price of $529 may lessen its appeal in a still-shaky economy.

- CHICAGO (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRK-A - News) issued a stern warning to Kraft Foods (NYSE:KFT - News) Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld, saying it opposed the food maker's plan to float new shares in pursuit of Cadbury Plc (LSE:CBRY.L - News). It was the strongest statement yet by Berkshire questioning Kraft's hostile 10 billion pound cash and stock offer for the UK confectioner. Berkshire is Kraft's single largest shareholder, with a 9.4 percent stake in its own holdings and its pension funds. Kraft shares rose 3.5 percent after the Berkshire statement, while Cadbury fell 3.3 percent on concerns opposition by Buffett would severely constrain a deal. Berkshire said it voted against Kraft's proposal to issue up to 370 million shares to help the food maker buy Cadbury, but could reverse to a "yes" vote, depending on the final offer's details. Berkshire declined to elaborate further about the statement.

- Snow, ice and wind wreaked havoc on energy markets Wednesday, where a barrel of oil topped $83 a barrel for the first time since the fall of 2008. Natural gas futures soared 6 percent. Dangerous temperatures that knocked fruit from vines in Florida and made driving treacherous in New England had people reaching for the thermostat. Weather easily trumped a surprise report Wednesday from the Energy Information Administration that showed the supply of crude and gasoline in storage is growing. The amount of gas placed into storage last week was three times greater than what was expected by energy analysts polled by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. Still, there has been a huge influx in speculative money entering the market to start 2010, said Peter Beutel of Cameron Hanover. A weak dollar has attracted billions of new dollars. Oil is bought and sold in the U.S. currency, which means investors holding euros or other stronger currencies can get more oil for less when the dollar falls. But it was dropping temperatures from Baltimore to Beijing that had energy prices moving. A big snowstorm hit Beijing Wednesday and freezing temperatures were expected to last there through the week. Benchmark crude rose $1.13 to $82.90 in the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices rose as high as $83.15 earlier in the day and that has begun to drag pump prices higher. By the weekend, the national average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. will top $2.70, predicted Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service.

- BETHESDA, Md. (AP) -- Defense contractor Lockheed Martin said Wednesday it plans to cut 1,200 jobs to lower costs as it combines two units. The cuts amount to less than 1 percent of the company's total work force of about 140,000. The company says employees who will lose their jobs will be notified by early April. Lockheed announced in November its plans to combine two units in its electronics systems business -- the former Maritime Systems & Sensors business, based in Washington, D.C., and its Systems Integration unit in Owego, N.Y. The newly combined unit, Mission Systems & Sensors, will provide services to maritime forces. It currently employs about 16,000 workers. Its headquarters is in Washington, but workers are spread at many locations including Baltimore, Syracuse, N.Y.; Akron, Ohio, and others. Lockheed spokeswoman Anne Marie Squeo said the cuts would not be confined to any one location and the facility in Owego would remain open. Lockheed is based in Bethesda, Md. Its shares shed 69 cents to $76.96 in afternoon trading.

- WASHINGTON – A government report Thursday on claims for unemployment aid signaled that layoffs are easing and that the economy could be on the verge of posting the first monthly gain in jobs in two years. The number of people claiming unemployment benefits for the first time barely rose last week, after two weeks of sharp drops. But the four-week average of claims, which smooths fluctuations, fell for the 18th straight week to 450,250. That figure is nearing the roughly 425,000 that many economists say would be a sign the economy will start creating jobs. The Labor Department will issue a more comprehensive snapshot of the job market on Friday, when it releases the monthly jobs report for December. Economists forecast the unemployment rate will rise to 10.1 percent from 10 percent and employers will have shed 8,000 jobs. Still, the sharp drop in first-time unemployment claims in recent months as well as other signs of improvement have caused some economists to predict small job gains in December. If so, it would be the first net increase in jobs in two years.

- NEW YORK (AP) -- A firm stand on prices and a surge of last-minute holiday shoppers gave retailers a big present: modest December sales gains and healthy profits, a big improvement from last year's Christmas catastrophe. Many retailers raised their fourth-quarter outlooks Thursday. A big reason why: Stores never had to resort to drastic price-cutting after keeping inventories lean. The solid finish capped a rough year that saw the biggest sales decline in at least four decades, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. December sales rose 2.8 percent compared with a year ago, according to the ICSC sales index; sales for the year fell 2 percent from all of 2008. For November and December combined, the index rose 1.8 percent, better than the group's estimate for a 1 percent gain. Last year, holiday sales fell 5.8 percent, the biggest sales decline for the key period in at least four decades. As merchants reported results Thursday, a diverse group of retailers including Costco Wholesale Corp., Target Corp., Macy's Inc. and TJX all reported increases. Luxury stores like Saks Inc. and Nordstrom also saw strong December sales.

- WASHINGTON (AP) -- Inventories held by wholesalers posted an unexpectedly strong gain in November while sales shot up by the largest amount in 10 months, two signs that the economic recovery was gaining traction in the fall. The Commerce Department said Friday that wholesale inventories rose 1.5 percent in November, a much stronger showing than the 0.2 percent drop that economists had expected. Sales jumped 3.3 percent, far better than the 0.9 percent rise that had been forecast. It marked the eighth consecutive month that sales at the wholesale level have increased and was the largest gain since last January. Economists hope that sustained sales increases will encourage businesses to restock depleted shelves which will in turn mean higher orders to factories. That would provide support to plants struggling to emerge from a deep recession. Commerce also reported, in another positive economic sign, that wholesale inventories increased by 0.6 percent in October, double the estimate the government made a month ago. That increase marked the first rise in inventories after a record stretch of 13 straight declines as businesses slashed the amount of inventories they were holding in an effort to trim costs.

- BEIJING (AP) -- China overtook the United States as the biggest auto market in 2009 and automakers should see more strong growth this year, an industry group reported Friday. Boosted by Beijing's stimulus, 2009 passenger car sales soared to 10.3 million and total vehicle sales are estimated at 13.6 million, the China Passenger Car Association said. That represents growth of about 45 percent from 2008. "This is even better than anyone expected," the group's general secretary, Rao Da, said at a news conference in Shanghai. By contrast, U.S. sales of cars and light trucks plunged 21 percent in 2009 to 10.4 million as a shaky economy kept buyers away from showrooms. It was the first time any country bought more cars than Americans. The Chinese group's data were in line with forecasts by J.D. Power and Associates of 12.7 million sales of cars and light trucks and 900,000 bigger vehicles in 2009 for a total of 13.6 million. The company in early 2009 expected sales of 9 million vehicles but raised that as Beijing rolled out measures to boost demand.

- TAIPEI, Taiwan – A Taiwanese company agreed to a request from a firm in China to procure sensitive components with nuclear uses, then shipped them to Iran, the firm's head said Friday. Such transactions violate U.N. sanctions imposed on the Middle Eastern nation. The admission by Steven Lin of Hsinchu-based Heli-Ocean Technology Co. Ltd. comes amid an international effort led by the United States to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. While Lin said he didn't know whether the parts — a vital component in the production of weapons-grade uranium — were eventually used by Iran militarily, he did acknowledge that they have nuclear applications. U.N. sanctions to prevent Iran from expanding its uranium enrichment program have led it to the black market to obtain sophisticated nuclear-related equipment. Aided by these illegal purchases, the program has grown to the stage where thousands of centrifuges are churning out enriched material, which can be used both for fuel or as the fissile core of nuclear warheads.

- OTTAWA (Reuters) – The recovery in Canada's job market stalled in December as employers unexpectedly cut 2,600 jobs after hefty hiring in November, another sign the economic revival will be sluggish rather than in leaps and bounds. The data released by Statistics Canada on Friday showed the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.5 percent, as forecast in a Reuters poll. The job losses, which followed a 79,000-job gain in November, are small enough to be considered a flat reading but disappointed the market consensus of a 20,000 increase. The Canadian dollar fell immediately after the report but economists focused on evidence the economy is holding on to gradual gains made over the past few months. "This is consistent with an economy that is on the mend but at a relatively moderate pace," said Don Drummond, chief economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank. The Canadian dollar fell as low as C$1.0386 or 96.28 U.S. cents, from C$1.0314 or 96.96 cents just before the report. The currency fully regained the lost ground 90 minutes later, however, after U.S. data showed 85,000 job losses in December. It touched C$1.0306, or 97.03 U.S. cents after that report. The Bank of Canada is likely to shrug off the worse-than-expected numbers when it sets interest rates on January 19. It is widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate at an all-time low of 0.25 percent until mid-year.