BOJ meeting weighs on yen, Asia stocks steady
HONG KONG (Reuters) - The dollar recovered early losses on Tuesday as the yen came under pressure ahead of a special central bank meeting while Asian shares were steady as investors paused after Monday's bounce. In Australia, the Aussie dollar rose then quickly retreated after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates for a third time in as many months, by 25 basis points to 3.75 percent.
GE, Vivendi agree to value NBCU stake at $5.8 billion
NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Electric Co <GE.N> and Vivendi SA <VIV.PA> have agreed in principle to a deal in which GE would buy the French company's 20 percent stake in NBC Universal for $5.8 billion, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday, paving the way for Comcast Corp's <CMCSA.O> proposed joint venture with GE. The agreement is mainly the result of a meeting between GE Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt and Vivendi's CEO Jean-Bernard Levy in Paris last week, where the two parties made progress on the talks that had been going on for weeks, the source said.
Dubai says not responsible for Dubai World debt
DUBAI (Reuters) - The Dubai government said on Monday it was not responsible for the debts of Dubai World, dealing a blow to creditors' assumptions that the Arab emirate would guarantee the conglomerate's liabilities. "Creditors need to take part of the responsibility for their decision to lend to the companies," said Abdulrahman al-Saleh, director general of Dubai's Department of Finance. "They think Dubai World is part of the government, which is not correct."
Geely taps China banks to back Volvo deal: sources
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Geely, the Chinese carmaker tagged as the preferred bidder for Ford Motor's <F.N> Volvo unit, is seeking at least $1 billion in loans from Chinese banks to finance its $1.8 billion bid, sources said on Tuesday. At least three major Chinese banks including Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Export-Import Bank of China have agreed to offer loans to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, said the banking sources briefed on the plan.
U.S. regional manufacturing recovers, consumers wary
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Manufacturing in parts of the United States was picking up steam, data showed on Monday, but jobs were lagging the recovery and consumers remained cautious, economists said. Business activity in the Midwest and in New York City expanded more than anticipated in November, but analysts worry that the U.S. economic recovery may lose momentum in 2010 after retail data showed consumers tightened their purse strings on the biggest shopping day of the year.
SEC watchdog eyes insider trading probe