Amazon Countries, France Get Ready for Copenhagen The presidents of eight nations straddling the Amazon basin plus France will meet Thursday in the heart of the Amazon rainforest to lay out a save-the-jungle proposal for next month’s climate change summit in Copenhagen. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 5 minutes ago
US TRAVEL AND TOURISM ARE GOING NOWHERE The downturn has pummeled U.S. tourism, with airlines and hotels suffering the greatest damage. Despite the dollar’s decline against most other world currencies, fewer travelers are visiting. Sales at publicly traded travel companies in the U.S. are way down, while those in China have seen gains. Tara Kalwarski, BUSINESSWEEK - 10 minutes ago
TRUMP STILL HOLDS CARDS The Donald is back at the table--sort of. After seeing his New Jersey casino empire slide into bankruptcy for the third time, real estate baron Donald Trump on Nov. 17 folded his bid to regain control but didn’t give up his seat. As part of a deal with bondholders, Trump will get a 10% stake in a recapitalized Trump Entertainment Resorts, which owns three Atlantic City casinos. In exchange, Trump and his daughter Ivanka agreed to drop claims against the company. Trump will be free to use his name on other gambling ventures but not in five neighboring states. He and Ivanka quit the board in February. Harry Maurer & Cristina Linblad, BUSINESSWEEK - 10 minutes ago
SEEDS OF A RALLY FOR MONSANTO The world’s No. 1 seed producer, Monsanto (MON), is playing catch-up: It missed the market rally, but that was O.K. with Keith Goddard, president of Capital Advisors Growth Fund, who scouts for blue-chip companies that stumble because of problems he sees as fixable. Gene Marcial, BUSINESSWEEK - 10 minutes ago
How to Play It: Philips Dutch conglomerate Philips is weathering the recession far better than it has previous downturns. In 2001 during the dot-com bust, Philips' shares fell 70% from their peak and took nearly four years to recover. This time, a slimmer Philips is bouncing back faster. After hitting a low of about 11 euros ($16.45) in March, Philips shares are now hovering closer to 19 euros ($28), a 30% gain from the start of the year. Kerry Capell, BUSINESSWEEK - 10 minutes ago
WHY DRUGMAKERS DON’T TWITTER The FDA has so far failed to craft rules clarifying how companies can participate in online discussions Catherine Arnst, BUSINESSWEEK - 10 minutes ago
ONE-STOP TECH GIANTS On Nov. 11, Hewlett-Packard announced the $2.7 billion acquisition of networking company 3Com, the latest in a line of tech megamergers. It may also be one of the last, according to Canaccord Adams analyst Paul Mansky. He says the deals are a sign of an industry in transition. In the past, companies could choose one provider for networking needs and another for servers or storage. Now, big players are becoming one-stop shops. Ben Levisohn, BUSINESSWEEK - 10 minutes ago
CHINA’S REVERSE BRAIN DRAIN Beijing is making progress in its effort to lure back top Chinese scientists working overseas Pete Engardio, BUSINESSWEEK - 11 minutes ago
HEALING CHILE’S MALAISE Despite decades of economic growth, average citizens are dissatisfied--and want better schools and more opportunities Geri Smith, BUSINESSWEEK - 11 minutes ago
CAN ADOBE BEAT BACK THE HACKERS? As its software becomes a major means of attack, security experts wonder if it can fight hard enough Aaron Ricadela, BUSINESSWEEK - 11 minutes ago
Wall Street Vs. America Taxpayers are taking another hit as strapped local governments fork over billions in fees on investments gone bad Theo Francis, Ben Levisohn, Christopher Palmeri, and Jessica Silver-Greenberg, BUSINESSWEEK - 11 minutes ago
A CHILL IN BRITAIN With more layoffs looming, it may struggle in 2010, too Stanley Reed, BUSINESSWEEK - 11 minutes ago
HEALTH CARE: GE GETS RADICAL It’s offering only high-deductible, consumer-directed plans. That will save millions but may damage morale Jena McGregor, With Esme Deprez, BUSINESSWEEK - 11 minutes ago
China House Church Leaders Sentenced A court in northern China has sentenced five leaders of an unauthorized Protestant church to prison terms of up to seven years on charges including illegal assembly, rights groups reported Thursday. Christopher Bodeen, AP NEWS - 20 minutes ago
Freed Foreign Journalists Leave Somalia Two foreign journalists freed after more than a year in captivity flew to neighboring Kenya, said Somalia’s national security minister on Thursday. Mohamed Olad Hassan, AP NEWS - 21 minutes ago
Art-House Films Top Contenders at Chinese Oscars An Australia-based director’s romance, a Taiwanese family drama and the story of a Chinese peasant guarding a cow are the unlikely trio of top contenders at the Chinese-language equivalent of the Oscars to be announced on Saturday. Min Lee, AP NEWS - 26 minutes ago
Toyota Slashes Bonuses for Managers by 20 Percent Toyota is slashing bonus pay for managers as the Japanese automaker tackles a massive recall in the U.S. and deep losses for the second straight fiscal year. Yuri Kageyama, AP NEWS - 30 minutes ago
Group: Chinese Over-Investment Could Strain Trade China’s stimulus spending has fueled massive overexpansion in steel and other industries that could force companies to boost exports, igniting a protectionist backlash abroad, a European business group warned Thursday. Joe McDonald, AP NEWS - 31 minutes ago
Invading Camels to Be Shot in Australian Town State authorities plan to corral about 6,000 wild camels with helicopters and gun them down after they overran a small town in Australia’s Outback in search of water, trampling fences, smashing tanks and contaminating supplies. Staff, AP NEWS - 38 minutes ago
Khmer Rouge Prison Chief Could Get 40 Years Lawyers for the Khmer Rouge prison chief blamed for thousands of killings in Cambodia accused prosecutors Thursday of making him a scapegoat for all the horrors committed by the regime. Sopheng Cheang and Luke Hunt, AP NEWS - 53 minutes ago
Asian Stocks Fall as Dollar Slides; Gold at Record Asian stock markets dropped Thursday as mostly positive economic news in the U.S. failed to inspire investors and the dollar tumbled to a 14-year low against the Japanese yen. Jeremiah Marquez, AP NEWS - 55 minutes ago
Dollar Falls to 14-Year Low vs Yen, Touching 86.51 The dollar tumbled to 14-year low against the Japanese yen Thursday after indications U.S. interest rates will remain low and that the Federal Reserve isn’t overly concerned about the dollar’s slide. Malcolm Foster, AP NEWS - 57 minutes ago
Taiwan Fines Newspaper for Motion Crime News A daily newspaper in Taiwan has been fined for illustrating news stories involving crime and violence in vivid animation on its Web site, an official said Thursday. Staff, AP NEWS - 57 minutes ago
Activist Group Posting 573,000 9/11 Pager Messages An activist group has begun posting 573,000 pager messages purportedly sent on Sept. 11, 2001, from “Second World Trade Center tower collapses” to “I’m ok & love you..xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox.” Karen Matthews, AP NEWS - 61 minutes ago
Tight Economy Forces Some to Stay Home for Holiday There’s still family, turkey and football, but one Thanksgiving tradition is taking a hit this year. Millions of Americans are spending the holiday at home, saying the poor economy has made it unaffordable to hit the road or board a plane. Michael Tarm, AP NEWS - 61 minutes ago
AP IMPACT: A Stream of WH Health Care Visits President Barack Obama’s top aides met frequently with lobbyists and health care industry heavyweights as his administration pieced together a national health care overhaul, according to White House visitor records obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press. Sharon Theimer and Julie Hirschfeld Davis, AP NEWS - 62 minutes ago
Obama to Vow Greenhouse Emissions Cuts in Denmark Putting his prestige on the line, President Barack Obama will personally commit the U.S. to a goal of substantially cutting greenhouse gases at next month’s Copenhagen climate summit. He will insist America is ready to tackle global warming despite resistance in Congress over higher costs for businesses and homeowners. H. Josef Hebert, AP NEWS - 64 minutes ago
Ahmadinejad Hails Anti-US ‘Brothers’ on Venezuela Trip Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed while standing next to President Hugo Chavez that Iran and Venezuela would “stand together until the end” in the face of US “imperialism.” Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 65 minutes ago
China Mine Disaster Toll Hits 108: State Media Rescuers have recovered the corpse of the last person missing after an explosion in a coal mine in northeastern China, bringing the death toll to 108, state media reported on Thursday. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 65 minutes ago
Climate Change to Cost Trillions, Say Economists Estimates vary widely on the costs of damage from climate change, easing these impacts and taming the carbon gas stoking the problem, but economists agree the bill is likely to be in the trillions of dollars. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 65 minutes ago
Freddie Mercury Memorial a Beacon for British Asians Eighteen years since he died, an unglamorous London suburb has unveiled Britain’s first memorial to Freddie Mercury, hoping it will inspire other local British Asians to take the world by storm. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 65 minutes ago
Canadian, Australian Journalists in Somalia Freed Two freelance journalists, one from Canada and the other from Australia, were freed on Wednesday after 15 months in captivity in Somalia, with the Canadian alleging she was tortured. Afp, AFP GLOBAL EDITION - 65 minutes ago
Kidd Rises to 2nd in NBA All-Time Assists in Dallas Win Jason Kidd moved into second place on the NBA’s all-time assists list while Jason Terry scored 27 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks past Houston 130-99. Afp, AFP AMERICAN EDITION - 66 minutes ago
Oil Falls to Near $77 Amid Mixed Demand Signs Oil prices fell to near $77 a barrel Thursday in Asia amid mixed indications about the strength of global crude demand. Alex Kennedy, AP NEWS - 68 minutes ago
Mexican President: Gangs Were ‘Taking Over’ Mexico Mexican President Felipe Calderon said in an interview that crime gangs and drug cartels were “taking over Mexico” before he launched his offensive against them, and said the crackdown had achieved uneven results. Mark Stevenson, AP NEWS - 69 minutes ago
Mumbai Commemorates Anniversary of Attacks A police parade showcasing new armored vehicles and weapons, a mournful candlelight vigil and a blood donation drive brought Mumbai residents together Thursday as they remembered the city’s worst terror attack a year ago that left 166 people dead. Erika Kinetz, AP NEWS - 70 minutes ago
Mexican President Says Poverty Now First Priority Mexican President Felipe Calderon said Wednesday that the top priority in the second half of his term will be reducing poverty, after the war against drug cartels took center stage in the first three years of his administration. Mark Stevenson, AP NEWS - 70 minutes ago
Search Crew Working to Free Man Stuck in Cave Rescuers chipped away with air-powered tools in a narrow tunnel Wednesday in a frustrating daylong effort to free a man trapped upside-down deep inside in a popular Utah cave. Brock Vergakis, AP NEWS - 70 minutes ago
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