HOUSTON (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp reported a better-than-expected 53 percent increase in quarterly profit as an improving world economy sparked higher demand for fuel and chemicals as crude oil prices rose.

It reported a fourth-quarter profit of &&6;9.25 billion, or &&6;1.85 per share, compared with &&6;6.05 billion, or &&6;1.27 per share in the same quarter a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of &&6;1.63 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Oil-equivalent production rose 19 percent from the year-ago quarter, lifted by liquefied natural gas operations in Qatar, the Irving Texas company said on Monday no fax cash advances.

Revenue soared to &&6;105.2 billion from &&6;89.8 billion a year earlier.

Shares of Exxon, the world&&9;s largest publicly traded oil company, rose 1.4 percent in premarket trading.

(Reporting by Anna Driver in Houston, editing by Dave Zimmerman)

Exxon profit rises 53 percent, tops Street

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor who is flirting with a bid for president, has none of the usual campaign accoutrements. No tour bus, campaign manager or yard signs. Few Americans, in fact, even know his name.

What Mr. Pawlenty does have is a beat reporter from Politico chronicling every utterance and movement of his noncampaign: a 25-year-old named Kendra Marr, who followed him through subzero temperatures last week equipped with a salt-coated Chevrolet Malibu rental, a laptop and a hand-held video camera.

The New Hampshire primary is over a year away, and the first major candidate has yet to formally declare. Just don’t tell that to outlets like Politico, Talking Points Memo and RealClearPolitics, which are already planning to smother the 2012 campaign trail in a way they could never have imagined four years ago when they had far smaller staffs of bloggers and shoestring budgets.

With an eye toward earning greater respectability, this crop of political Web sites is hoping for more than just page views and traffic-driving links from the Drudge Report. They want to establish themselves as the Blogs on the Bus.

“We were a garage band in 2008, riffing on the fly,” said Jim VandeHei, Politico’s executive editor and co-founder. “Now we’re a 200-person production, with a precise feel and plan.”

Politico will host, with NBC News and Telemundo, the first debate of the campaign season on May 2, getting a head start on a season of face-offs that is already remarkably busy. (Politico edged ahead of Fox News, which scheduled a debate for May 5.)

Politico has nearly tripled its staff since 2008, when it was already a formidable if somewhat overextended presence on the campaign trail.

It will start a Web site, 2012 Live, this weekend that will serve as a home for what Mr. VandeHei described as “tons and tons of stories” in addition to the kind of minutiae that Politico believes political enthusiasts can never get enough of — politicians’ daily schedules, county-by-county demographic data in key primary states and historical voting trends.

There will be biographies in micro-detail, right down to midlevel state campaign consultants and unelected local political leaders. If you do not know who Rich Ashooh is, you will after reading Politico’s new site. (Hint: he is a lobbyist in New Hampshire who reportedly has “an impressive Rolodex.”)

Politico has also developed an interactive map that tracks where candidates have traveled as far back as 2008 and how many visits they have made to a particular state — a feature resembling the Santa Tracker for children on Christmas Eve.

If all this sounds as if the question “How much is too much?” has never occurred to Politico, that is because it hasn’t.

“There probably is in theory a point where there’s too much,” Mr. VandeHei said. “But we certainly haven’t discovered it.”

Politico’s mission in 2012, Mr. VandeHei said, is to carve out an even bigger place in the news media landscape. “We’re trying to take a leap forward in front of everyone else.”

Talking Points Memo, a political site that has been around since 2000 but only became a force outside Washington in the last few years, plans to expand its reporting staff to 15 people. In 2008, it had only one full-time reporter assigned to the campaign. According to the site’s founder, editor and publisher, Josh Marshall, the goal is to create a bigger name for the blog by competing with newcomers like Politico and more traditional news outlets like The Washington Post and The New York Times.

In the 2004 campaign, Mr. Marshall said, “We were sort of a player.” By 2008, the site had become “a small but significant player,” he said.

But now, he said with a sense of pride, “We’ve already got reporters assigned to different campaigns.”

“It’s an entirely different game for us.”

RealClearPolitics plans to more than double the number of reporters covering the 2012 campaign to at least six and possibly eight, according to John McIntyre, the Web site’s chief executive and co-founder no teletrack payday loan.

“We’re going to be putting as many reporters in the field as we can,” Mr. McIntyre said, adding that original reporting “is how we become part of the conversation.”

For Web sites like RealClearPolitics and The Huffington Post, which has more than 200 employees now — up from about 60 in 2008 — one big difference in the 2012 election will be their emphasis on original reporting as opposed to aggregation and commentary.

Arianna Huffington said her site planned to assign its new crop of employees — many of them just out of college — a healthy menu of political articles through 2012.

Add to that the emergence of players that were not around in 2008, like Politics Daily, an AOL enterprise that started in 2009, and the retooled NationalJournal.com, which until late last year had a small presence online and limited all but a handful of articles to subscribers.

Traffic for political news sites tends to rise and fall with the election cycle. But various independent surveys place Politico’s monthly traffic around the 2010 midterm elections at two million to six million people. According to Quantcast, Politico’s traffic from the United States reached just under six million in November and fell to around five million late this month.

About 2.6 million people visited RealClearPolitics each month on average, Quantcast estimated, and Talking Points Memo’s traffic averaged about 1.4 million. By comparison, Quantcast estimates that each month about 20 million people visit CNN.com and about 15 million visit NYTimes.com. The rise of political sites has tested many traditional news outlets, which must grapple with whether to pursue the kind of micro-scoops and quick-hit articles that political sites specialize in, or ignore them and risk losing readers.

“The world wants information quickly and instantly,” said Kevin Merida, national editor for The Washington Post. “In our business, you have to shift to accommodate that. And if readers don’t get what they want where they’re looking, they’ll go someplace else and look.”

Ultimately, Mr. Merida said, he believes it is wiser for news organizations like his not to give in to the temptation to keep pace with the supersonic speed of the blogosphere. “That’s what we all have to figure out: how to give people what they want, and to keep your own compass.”

In some ways, political news sites have changed the threshold for what is news, and the result is often a greater emphasis on the horse race — the kind of who’s up, who’s down reporting that proves endlessly frustrating for candidates and many readers.

Politico, for example, has published at least 36 articles in which Sarah Palin was a principal figure in the last month. In the last week and a half alone, the site has characterized her political fortunes as slipping, on Jan. 18 (the article explained her “incremental” but “significant” drop in favorability); indeterminate, on Jan. 20 (one writer cautioned those who underestimate her “do so at their own risk”); and imperiled again, on Jan. 22 (an article noted her “disconnect” with New Hampshire voters).

Mr. Pawlenty, the Republican former governor, at a Barnes & Noble last week here in Manchester, observed to a group of reporters that he was asked about polls and the horse race more than anything else. “It’s like, ‘O.K. Now can we talk about health care or taxes?’ ” he said.

Ms. Marr, the Politico reporter, was not deterred. She followed up with a twist on the standard horse race question: “Are you getting tired of the Sarah Palin question?”

Ms. Marr then planted herself at a table in the back of the bookstore, where she filed a 500-word article that was posted on Politico’s home page about an hour after Mr. Pawlenty had left the building.

Political Blogs Ready to Flood Campaign Trail

SNOWED UNDER: JetBlue Airways Corp. said Thursday its fourth-quarter net income fell 18 percent as higher costs and the impact of a massive blizzard offset better traffic and higher ticket prices.

DETAILS: The New York airline earned $9 million, or 3 cents per share, in the October-to-December period. That compares with a year-ago profit of $11 million, or 4 cents per share. Revenue rose 13 percent to $940 million guaranteed high risk personal loans.

COST TALLY: The Northeast blizzard in December cost it about $30 million in lost revenue. Fuel was also 16 percent higher than a year ago, and overall costs rose 15 percent.

Summary Box: JetBlue profit falls on higher costs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. securities regulators said they froze bank accounts containing more than &&6;800,000 in illegal profits after a manager at Seattle Genetics. gave his relative confidential information about drug trial results.

The Securities and Exchange Commission complaint, which was filed January 19 and unsealed on Friday, says that Seattle Genetics Manager Zizhong (James) Fan told his relative Zishen (Brandon) Fan about positive trial results in the development of a drug used to treat Hodgkin&&9;s lymphoma.

The SEC said Zishen spent hundreds of thousands of dollars buying speculative stock options and common stock in the company. The stock value rose 18 percent when the news about the drug trial was made public in late September, the SEC said.

The SEC said it contacted the men on January 13. Shortly afterward, it said Zishen tried to wire several hundred thousand dollars to a bank in China free credit report and score. Zizhong told Seattle Genetics he had to leave for a trip to China, the SEC said. The SEC did not say if he left the United States, and did not specify their family relationship.

Zizhong denied being related to or knowing Zishen, and Zishen denied knowing anyone at Seattle Genetics, the SEC said.

The SEC filed its complaint against both defendants in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington and got an order from a judge freezing the bank and brokerage accounts that held the profits.

Calls to lawyers for Zizhong and Zishen were not immediately returned Friday.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch. Additional reporting by Rachelle Younglai. Editing by Robert MacMillan)

SEC freezes assets in insider trading case

The recommendations, laid out by the Securities and Exchange Commission in a study reviewed by Reuters late on Friday, would drastically alter the landscape for broker-dealers who under current laws are only required to recommend products that are "suitable" to mom-and-pop investors.

It could also potentially mean changes for investment advisers if the SEC opts to replace their fiduciary standard with a new one, although the study says it would be "no less stringent" than what they face today.

Under today&&9;s standard, advisers must act in a client&&9;s best interest. The study was required under the Dodd-Frank financial law, and its findings are likely to help shape future rule-making at the agency.

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro has long called for harmonizing regulations between brokers and advisers who offer retail customers advice, saying investors may not know the difference between those acting in their best interest and those who are just peddling products.

But both Republican commissioners issued a harsh critique of the study on Friday, saying it failed to provide evidence that investors are "being systemically harmed or disadvantaged." They also questioned if a uniform standard would eliminate any investor confusion.

"Because of our concerns, we oppose the study&&9;s release to Congress as drafted," wrote Commissioners Kathleen Casey and Troy Paredes in a statement reviewed by Reuters.

"Before the commission proposes rules in this area, more rigorous analysis - rooted in economics and data - is needed to avoid unintended consequences."

The big issue the study seeks to address is how to handle conflicts of interest, particularly for brokers who wear two hats by both offering advice and selling products.

They may, for instance, get commissions if they offer certain products. Or they may trade with a client on a principal basis.

The study seeks to balance investor protection with the uniform standard while at the same time being flexible enough to accommodate different business models.

In some instances, it suggests new rules are in order to "prohibit certain conflicts creditreport." In other cases, conflicts could be addressed through clear disclosures for investors.

Such disclosures could include documents containing key information on a firm&&9;s services and fees. It also contemplates rules requiring general disclosures of conflicts as well as disclosures that would be required at the time the firm provides advice.

The brokerage industry has supported a uniform fiduciary standard as long as it is clearly spelled out by rule-writing and does not impede firms from offering a wide range of products to customers.

But investment advisers have said they believe brokers offering advice to retail customers should face the same stringent fiduciary standards they do today.

Some have raised concerns the SEC will adopt a lesser standard across both industries that will make it easy for brokers to simply skirt their responsibilities to act in a client&&9;s best interest.

The study says it aims to strike a balance between making sure investors don&&9;t have to "parse through legal distinctions" while also ensuring they "continue to have access to various fee structures, account options and types of advice."

Ira Hammerman, the general counsel at the Securities and Financial Markets Association, said late Friday that the group embraces the "notion of having this uniform fiduciary standard."

Although he was still reviewing the study and also hopes for more SEC guidance, Hammerman added that the study appeared to be "consistent with what we at Sifma have been calling for."

The SEC had not yet officially released the study on Friday, but a copy was reviewed by Reuters. The study also lays out other ways to harmonize rules for brokers and advisers in areas such as advertising, the use of finders and solicitors and licensing and registration requirements.

(Additional reporting by Charles Abbott; Editing by Nick Macfie)

SEC urges new fiduciary rule for brokers and advisers

MADRID (Reuters) – Spain plans a partial state takeover of its weakest savings banks as it seeks to reassure investors a rescue will not weigh on its deficit, sources and reports said on Friday.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters the government would force debt-laden regional savings banks to become conventional banks and seek stock market listings to persuade skittish investors that they are good investments.

The state-backed bank restructuring fund (FROB) would then take stakes in the banks -- known as cajas -- that fail to attract private investment, the source said.

Up to now the FROB has functioned as a lender to the cajas.

High levels of bad property loans at the cajas is seen as a major risk for Spain as it aggressively cuts its budget deficit to stave off fears it will need an Irish or Greek-style rescue from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Signs of greater transparency and a definitive plan for the banks sent Spain&&9;s 10-year benchmark bond to its highest price since early December and shares in Spain&&9;s biggest banks jumped to their highest level since November 1.

"I think it&&9;s encouraging. One of the root causes of the lack of confidence in the euro area is the fear that Spain is the next Ireland," BNP Paribas chief euro zone economist Ken Wattret said.

Analysts&&9; estimates of the cost of recapitalizing the savings banks range from 17 billion to 120 billion euros, with consensus falling in the 25 billion to 50 billion area, though Economy Minister Elena Salgado says it will be much lower.

SIGNS OF PROGRESS

If the clean-up costs around 50 billion to 60 billion euros and the government&&9;s plan is credible, "that&&9;s a net positive," Fitch debt rating agency&&9;s head of sovereign ratings said on Friday.

Even in the absence of private investment into the weak regional lenders, economists say Spain could afford that level of rescue without seeking outside aid, which could take pressure of euro zone aid fund the European Financial Stability Facility.

Analysts say the EFSF could probably not cope with a full bailout of Spain -- covering all its debt obligations to mid-2013 -- without extending the fund&&9;s scope.

Even if the bulk of the bank restructuring bill eventually ended up back with the state, certainty about what it amounted to would help calm investor jitters about Spain&&9;s liabilities guaranteed online payday loans.

The Bank of Spain forced the cajas last year into a round of mergers, reducing their number to 17 from 45. Five of them failed Europe-wide stress tests on banks last year.

They must reveal by January 31 more details about their bad loans and property holdings. Only one caja has done so far, but once all the reports are in, the Bank of Spain will be able to give a clear idea of the total recapitalization needs.

Spain&&9;s borrowing costs have soared over the past year on concerns that its high deficit and stagnant economy will force it to seek outside help, but a series of aggressive cost cuts and economic reforms have already calmed fears somewhat.

RESCUE VS DEFICIT

A bank recapitalization worth 50 billion euros would amount to about 5 percent of Spanish GDP, which could endanger the government&&9;s goal of cutting the budget deficit to 6 percent of gross domestic product this year.

The FROB would have to raise debt on the market to purchase the bank stakes. In theory, the books would be balanced by the stakes in the savings banks to avoid a deficit impact, although the risk is those stakes dwindle in value.

Taking stakes in the banks "will increase the government&&9;s debt needs and that is one of the problems because we still don&&9;t know ... how much the cajas are going to need," said Josep Soler, general director of Financial Studies Institute.

The FROB would invest in the cajas at market rates subject to EU anti-trust approval, a government source told Reuters.

While some of the biggest cajas are seen as attractive investments, investors have shied away from smaller ones, notorious for being used by local politicians to fund pet projects from casinos to airports.

The cajas plan a March trip to Asia, including China, following similar road shows in Europe and the United States.

Spain could change the law to make it easier for the savings banks to seek private investment, the FROB said in a statement on its website on Friday.

The aim would be to speed up the separation between their financial business and their social activities, the FROB said.

(Additional reporting by Elisabeth O&&9;Leary, Nigel Davies and Robert Hetz; Writing by Fiona Ortiz; editing by Mike Peacock)

Spain plans partial nationalization of savings banks

Consolidation is like refinancing--you get a new loan, the new loan pays off your old loans, and you pay the new consolidation loan instead. Why bother? Below are some important FAQs on this subject:

Which loans can I consolidate? You can consolidate pretty much all kinds of federal student loans like Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, PLUS Loans, and Perkins Loans, including most federal loans in default. But be careful--defaulted Direct Consolidation Loans can&&9;t be reconsolidated, so you only get one chance to use consolidation to get out of default.

[Pick from the federal student loan smorgasbord.]

When does consolidation make sense? Consolidation might make sense if:

1. You want to combine your federal loans and make just one monthly payment.

2. You want to lock in a fixed interest rate on variable interest rate loans (those borrowed before 2006).

3. You need a way out of default.

4. You have Federal Family Education Loans, or FFEL (federal loans from a bank or private lender like Sallie Mae) and you want those federal student loans to be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (since only Direct Loans are eligible).

[Learn more about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.]

What are the downsides to consolidation? It&&9;s important to understand the potential disadvantages to consolidation. For instance, you&&9;ll have the option of taking longer to repay, so a consolidation loan could cost you more over time (since interest keeps adding up until you&&9;re done). If you consolidate while you are in school--currently allowed under limited circumstances--you&&9;ll lose your grace period. In addition, if you&&9;re close to paying off your loans, consolidation might not be worth the effort.

How can consolidation get me out of default? If you&&9;re in default on your student loans, you can&&9;t get new loans to go back to school, and you face severe collection procedures. Consolidation can give you a fresh start business cards. You can consolidate defaulted student loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan and stop collections including garnishments and tax intercepts. Be aware that if you are in default, your balance will go up after you consolidate, because collection fees will be added to the loan.

Can I consolidate my private student loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan? I wish. Unfortunately, private loans are not eligible for consolidation into a Direct Consolidation Loan. And, for Pete&&9;s sake, beware of consolidating federal loans into a private consolidation loan. Federal loans have important borrower protections that you lose if you choose to consolidate federal loans with a private lender. Also, federal consolidation loans generally have lower interest rates. Only Direct Loans offer federal consolidation loans these days.

[Read the 6 advantages to federal student loans.]

How do I apply for a Direct Consolidation Loan? You can apply online for a Direct Consolidation Loan. Direct consolidation loan applications submitted online are processed more quickly than those submitted by mail. Be sure you include the right information about the loans you are consolidating. You&&9;ll need to know the balances of all your loans to complete the application. If you make mistakes on the application, it will probably delay processing.

Where can I get more details? For more information about consolidating, check out these resources:

--Student Loan Borrower Assistance provides comprehensive information for student loan borrowers.

--FinAid has lots of great advice about all kinds of financial aid, including consolidation loans.

--The Direct Consolidation Loans site has consolidation application forms and FAQs.

Searching for a college? Get our complete rankings of Best Colleges.

4 Reasons to Consolidate Your Student Loans

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Oil is once again flowing through the trans-Alaska pipeline after a weekend shutdown to repair a leak at a North Slope pump station.

Michelle Egan, spokeswoman for the Alyeska Service Pipeline Co., says oil began flowing Monday morning.

She says the goal for the next 24 hours is to bring the 800-mile pipeline up to 500,000 barrels a day. Before the leak was discovered more than a week ago, the pipeline was carrying about 630,000 barrels a day.

Egan says crews completed work on a 157-foot bypass line to go around the leak.

The pipeline in Alaska delivers about 13 percent of the nation's daily domestic oil production to tankers for West Coast delivery.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below easy to get unsecured personal loans.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alyeska is in the process of restarting the trans-Alaska pipeline after a weekend shutdown to repair a leak at a North Slope pumping station.

Rachel Baker-Sears, a spokeswoman at the joint information center in Fairbanks, says repairs were completed at 3:40 a.m. Monday and crews were refilling the line with crude by 5 a.m.

Alyeska Pipeline Service shut down the 800-mile pipeline early Saturday to install a 157-foot bypass pipe around the leak discovered more than a week ago.

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation said sealing and draining the pipe took longer than expected.

Oil is flowing with restart of Alaska pipeline

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States will talk candidly and openly about its economic concerns with China during President Hu Jintao&&9;s state visit next week, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pledged Friday.

But Geithner also predicted it was inevitable that the value of the yuan, which has irked the United States, would rise, and stressed that substantial opportunities were opening up for US businesses in China.

"You&&9;re going to hear us talk very openly and candidly about our concerns and our objectives in the Chinese market," Geithner told reporters.

"You&&9;re going to hear the Chinese talk about their concerns and their expectations for how to make sure they have continued access to US technology, US markets," Geithner said.

The United States has made repeated complaints about the level of the yuan currency, arguing that it has been kept artificially low to boost Chinese exports at the expense of the US economy.

Geithner however noted that the yuan had moved up at a rate of just over three percent since the Chinese authorities said they would allow the currency to increase in value in June.

"That&&9;s an annual rate of about 6 percent, maybe 7 percent, 8 percent," Geithner said, adding the best measure of competitiveness for US goods was the combined effect of the rising currency and accelerating inflation in China instant payday loan.

"Chinese inflation is accelerating and it&&9;s much more rapid than US inflation, the right measure of the pace of appreciation is now more than 10 percent a year, and that&&9;s a very substantial material change."

"It&&9;s important to recognize, it&&9;s going to happen. There&&9;s no doubt it&&9;s going to happen. The only question for China, whether it happens more through inflation or more through the exchange rate itself."

Geitner said that based on the changes in the yuan&&9;s value made so far, US businesses were beginning to find substantial new opportunities.

"The opportunities American companies enjoy in China are expanding quite substantially," Geithner said.

"And the relative competitiveness of American companies, American products, American ideas, American services is already moving in our favor, because the Chinese are allowing their currency to now -- to strengthen."

China&&9;s central bank pledged earlier this month to increase the flexibility of the yuan exchange rate, ahead of Hu&&9;s visit.

Hu is due to land on Washington on Tuesday, and will be honored with the full pomp of a state visit on Wednesday at the White House.

US to be candid on economy during Hu trip

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks edged lower on Thursday, hurt by a slide in drugmaker Merck and as falling commodities prices hit shares of natural resource companies.

The S&P 500, however, held near 28-month highs as investors saw stocks&&9; upward trend continuing, focusing on expectations for strong earnings.

Intel Corp&&9;s (INTC.O) shares rose 1 percent after the close as investors digested the technology bellwether&&9;s results. For details see [ID:nASA01DOG] Intel ended regular trading down slightly at &&6;21.29 a share.

During Thursday&&9;s session copper prices retreated from recent highs on concerns of slowing demand from China. Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX.N) lost 3.1 percent to &&6;118.07, and the S&P materials sector (.GSPM) fell 0.8 percent.

"The fact the commodities market is trading down is what&&9;s putting pressure on materials shares," said Tom Schrader, managing director of U.S. equity trading at Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets in Baltimore.

Merck & Co (MRK.N) dropped 6.6 percent to &&6;34.69, accounting for more than half the losses in the Dow, after it stopped giving a blood clot preventer, one of its most important experimental drugs, to some patients.

The S&P healthcare index (.GSPA) fell 0.54 percent.

Weekly initial jobless claims jumped to their highest level since October last week while food and energy costs lifted producer prices in December, pointing to headwinds for an economy that has shown fresh vigor.

A surge in exports to their highest level in two years helped narrow the U.S. trade deficit in November, an encouraging sign for positive surprises in the current earnings season Same day payday loans.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) fell 23.54 points, or 0.20 percent, to 11,731.90. The Standard & Poor&&9;s 500 Index (.SPX) dropped 2.20 points, or 0.17 percent, to 1,283.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) dipped 2.04 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,735.29.

The benchmark S&P 500 has gained 22.3 percent since the start of September.

About 7.5 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, below last year&&9;s estimated daily average of 8.47 billion.

Advancing stocks trailed declining ones on the NYSE by 1,363 to 1,622, while on the Nasdaq, more than 5 stocks fell for every four that rose.

JPMorgan fell 0.6 percent to &&6;44.45 ahead of its results, expected before the market&&9;s open on Friday. Its shares have risen 4.8 percent so far this year.

Earnings from S&P 500 companies are expected to rise 32 percent in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago.

Marathon Oil Corp (MRO.N) gained 6 percent to &&6;42.98 after it said it would spin off its refinery and pipeline operations into a stand-alone company.

Easing recent worries about the credit crisis in Europe, Spain and Italy followed Portugal with successful debt sales on Thursday. The euro rose 1.7 percent against the U.S. dollar, its best day in six months.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; additional reporting by Pedro Nicolaci da Costa; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Merck, materials companies drag Wall St lower

SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Stocks significantly exposed to flooding disaster in Australia’s Queensland state fell Wednesday, although gains for large mining firms helped support the broader market.

Overall, the S&P/ASX 200 index  closed the session at 4.724.20, up 0.3%, boosted by gains for Rio Tinto Ltd. ,  up 1.3% and BHP Billiton Ltd.   , also up 1.3%.

But the worsening floods in the state of Queensland meant that broad gains were kept in check by sharp losses for a range of companies, including Leighton Holdings Ltd.,   , down 2%, Caltex Australia Ltd.   own 5.7% and Bank of Queensland Ltd. , down 3.8%.

Flash floods in Queensland kill nearly a dozen and threaten thousands of homes and businesses. Video courtesy of Reuters.

Construction and mining contract firm Leighton Holdings saw its shares lose ground after saying Wednesday that a number of its operations may be affected due to the weather, with any material earnings impact to be determined in the coming weeks.

Caltex Australia also updated investors Wednesday. The oil refining and marketing firm said that partial production at its Lytton Refinery will resume Thursday after heavy rain prompted an unscheduled shut-down last week. Full operation will depend on Brisbane Port operations, which are currently suspended due to flooding.

The 2011 after-tax financial impact of the unplanned shutdown of the refinery is expected at between five million to 10 million Australian dollars ($4 payday loans.9 million to $9.8 million), the firm said.

Morgan Stanley analysts, meanwhile, cut earnings projections for Bank of Queensland on Wednesday, citing the flooding. They downgraded 2011 estimates by 2% and 2012 estimates by 5%, saying they believe the lender’s loan growth and credit quality will be hit.

At the same time, the broker lifted impairment charge forecasts for non-housing loans by five percentage points in 2011 and 10 percentage points in 2012.

“Bank of Queensland’s business is highly skewed towards Queensland, which represents around 60% of its loan portfolio and branch network,” the analysts said.

For the Australian banking sector as a whole, the broker said that it expects higher loan losses and a lower loan growth outlook for Queensland banking operations in the short term.

Although not as exposed as Bank of Queensland, National Australia Bank Ltd.   has 22% of the state’s exposure to the state based on branch distribution while Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.   has 20% exposure and Westpac Banking Corp.’s   exposure is 16%, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s   exposure is 15%, the broker said.

NAB shares declined 0.4%, ANZ shares were down 0.5%, Westpac shares lost 0.4% and Commonwealth Bank shares ended the session up 0.1%.

Queensland floods hit some stocks

ATHENS, Greece – Greek bond yields have hit another record high, exceeding benchmarch German bond rates by 10 percentage points for the first time.

Monday's record occurred on the eve of a euro1.5 billion ($1.96 billion) auction of 6-month treasury bills, considered an important test of market sentiment.

Greece has said it wants to return to bond markets this year, but the interest gap, or spread, on 10-year bonds compared with the German issue reached a worrying 1,001 no fax payday loans.1 basis points amid renewed worries about some EU nations' struggle to handle debt loads.

Greece borrowing rates hit new record

HONG KONG (Reuters) – The euro slumped to a four-month low against the dollar on Friday and looked set for more weakness if U.S. payrolls data meets recently raised forecasts, strengthening the case for a sustainable economic recovery.

The greenback remained buoyed by an unexpectedly strong ADP employment report earlier in the week which showed a record number of private sector jobs created in December and prompted economists to raise their forecasts for the payrolls data.

"The U.S. jobs number is a mega factor going into 2011 for policymakers as well as markets," said Tom Kaan, a director at Hong Kong-based Louis Capital Markets.

"I&&9;d say the recent dollar strength is more likely due to profit-taking on short positions because people were so bearish but if we see U.S. unemployment dip even slightly, it&&9;ll mean that things have actually started getting better," said Kaan.

Non-farm payrolls probably increased by an estimated 175,000 in December and the jobless rate eased to 9.7 percent from 9.8 percent, according to a Reuters survey.

The U.S. Labor Department will release the closely watched report at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Another key event on Friday is Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke&&9;s testimony on the U.S. economic outlook to the Senate Budget Committee, which investors will scrutinize for updates on the Fed&&9;s plan to continue buying bonds until June.

The dollar index (.DXY), which measures the greenback&&9;s performance against a basket of major currencies, on Friday hit a high of 80.95, a level last seen in early December.

A selloff in peripheral euro zone government bonds before a series of bond issues next week, and an EU proposal that could force those who lend to banks to bear big losses should they fail, helped knock the single currency lower across the board.

Portugal, widely seen as the next euro zone state at the risk of needing a bailout after Greece and Ireland, will lead a series of debt auctions from European nations next week no faxing 1 hour payday loans.

ASIAN STOCKS EASE, JAPAN OUTPERFORMS

Japan&&9;s Nikkei (.N225), lifted by a strong day on Chinese bourses, recovered from earlier losses to make a 0.1 percent gain on the day, taking its weekly rise to 3 percent and extending its recent outperformance among Asian markets.

The MSCI Asia ex-Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) fell 0.5 percent and was down 0.2 percent in its first week of trading for the year.

Shares in Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), the world&&9;s No.1 memory chip maker, fell 1.3 percent after the company forecast weaker-than-expected fourth quarter earnings. Most analysts see this a blip, with demand for many of the company&&9;s businesses, including smartphones, picking up.

Samsung shares are up nearly 25 percent over the past quarter and hovering near record highs.

"I think the fourth-quarter results will mark the bottom. Although its DRAM chip sector may remain in a slump in the first quarter, other businesses such as LCD will provide a boost," SK Securities analyst Hwang Yoo-Sik said.

Shanghai&&9;s key stocks index (.SSEC) rose 1.5 percent, breaking through key chart resistance, driven by shares in Chinese banks that have lagged global peers.

Investors will look ahead to the start of the corporate earnings season in the U.S. for signs whether an improving macroeconomic landscape is translating into company profits.

Earnings season kicks off next week with aluminum producer Alcoa (AA.N), oil major Chevron (CVX.N) and technology bellwether Intel Corp (INTC.O) all expected to provide insights into global growth and demand.

(Editing by Daniel Magnowski)

U.S. jobs hope lifts dollar but weakens euro

LONDON (AFP) – The dollar rose against the euro on Wednesday as investors grow more optimistic about the US economic recovery and stayed wary about the eurozone debt crisis, analysts said.

In late morning deals, the European single currency fell to 1.3256 dollars from 1.3303 late in New York on Tuesday. The dollar edged up to 82.06 yen from 82.00 yen on Tuesday.

The market gained confidence in the US economy after the Commerce Department on Tuesday reported that factory orders for November rose 0.7 percent, beating forecasts of a 0.3 percent fall in orders.

"A series of upbeat US economic indicators released since late last year have provided a good reason to buy the dollar," said Yuichiro Harada, dealer at Mizuho Corporate Bank.

"The market is closely watching the (US) employment report due out later this week," Harada told AFP.

The shared eurozone currency was also under pressure on risk-aversion following overnight falls in prices of commodities such as crude oil and gold, dealers said.

"The euro was beaten down as the market became less tolerant to risks," Harada said.

"Since the new year started, there has scarcely been any more negative news concerning the eurozone debt crisis, but concerns persist in the market."

The Swiss franc eased further against leading currencies after reaching new highs in the final days of 2010 thanks to renewed market tensions over sovereign debt in the eurozone payday loans for bad credit.

Swiss analysts said the refuge currency&&9;s behaviour was largely contingent on the state of public finances in the European Union, Switzerland&&9;s biggest trading partner. Switzerland is not a member of the EU.

The relentless rise of the traditional Swiss safehaven currency into new territory under the impulse of investors concerned about the broad European and US recovery has caused alarm among Swiss exporters in recent weeks.

Analysts at Pictet bank cautioned that investors who had taken a long-term bet on the franc "will not pull out before they have strong confirmation of the improvement in the finances of European Union member states."

The Swedish krona rose to a six-year high point against the euro. Swedenis a member of the European Union, but not of the eurozone.

In London on Wednesday, the euro changed hands at 1.3256 dollars against 1.3303 dollars late in New York on Tuesday, at 108.80 yen (109.11), 0.8509 pounds (0.8533) and 1.2603 Swiss francs (1.2617).

The dollar stood at 82.06 yen (82.00) and 0.9505 Swiss francs (0.9482).

The pound was at 1.5579 dollars (1.5586).

On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold dropped to 1,383.75 dollars an ounce from 1,388.50 dollars late on Tuesday.

Dollar rises against euro

LONDON (Reuters) – Shares in oil major BP (BP.L) opened over 4 percent higher on Tuesday after a newspaper reported rival Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) had considered a takeover bid in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The Daily Mail, citing sources close to the Anglo-Dutch group, reported Shell weighed an opportunistic bid for BP as crude gushed into the Gulf, but was discouraged by the potentially uncapped legal liabilities no fax payday advance.

BP shares traded up 4.1 percent at 0809 GMT (3:09 a.m ET), while shares in Hague-based Shell traded up 1.6 percent, against a 1.3 percent rise in the STOXX Europe 600 Oil and Gas index (.SXEP).

(Reporting by Tom Bergin; Editing by David Holmes)

BP shares jump after Shell bid report