LONDON (MarketWatch) -- British stocks tentatively built on recent gains in a holiday-shortened trading session on Thursday, with miners advancing amid higher commodity prices

The U.K. FTSE 100 index rose 0.1%, or 5.22 points, to 5,377.60.

The British stock market and selected Continental equity markets close early on Thursday for the Christmas break. Shares trading in Europe on Thursday were also in a tight range. See Europe Markets.

U.S. stock futures were pointing to mild gains on Wall Street.

The FTSE 100 index ended 0.8% higher on Wednesday, with the move bringing gains made in the first three sessions of the week to 3.4% and year-to-date gains to 21.2%.

The index is almost back at its 2009 closing high of 5,382.67, hit on Nov. 16.

Miners have performed strongly this year and were higher again on Thursday, with BHP Billiton shares up 1 low cost payday loans.4% and Anglo American shares up 1.2%.

Silver miner Fresnillo gained 2.6% and copper miner Kazakhmys advanced 1.2%.

The gains for the sector came as metal futures advanced, with gold futures up $10.10 at $1,104.20 an ounce. Light sweet crude oil futures were up 18 cents at $76.85 a barrel in electronic trading and sterling traded up 0.2% at $1.5993 against the dollar.

Still, gains for the top London index were kept in check by losses for some banks and insurance companies.

RSA Insurance Group shares were down 1.4% and shares of banking giant HSBC Holdings lost 0.7%.

London Markets: British stocks gain for fourth straight session

SEATTLE (AP) &<51; A federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling on Tuesday and ordered Microsoft to stop selling its Word program in January and pay a Canadian software company $290 million for violating a patent,.

But Microsoft expects the decision to have little impact on Word or Microsoft&S217;s Office package in the United States. Microsoft said Tuesday that new versions of the product, with the computer code in question removed, will be ready for sale when the injunction begins Jan. 11.

The case started in 2007 when the software company, i4i Inc. of Toronto, sued Microsoft, saying it owned the technology behind a tool in the popular word processing program. The technology gives Word users an improved way to edit XML, or code that tells the program how to interpret and display a document&S217;s contents.

A Texas jury found that Microsoft Word willfully infringed on the patent. Microsoft appealed that decision, but the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the lower court&S217;s damage award and the injunction against future sales of infringing copies of Word guaranteed payday loans.

A founder and co-inventor of i4i, Michel Vulpe, said in a statement that the company was pleased with the decision, calling it &S220;an important step in protecting the property rights of small inventors.&S221;

Microsoft said it has been preparing for such a judgment since August. Copies of Word and Office sold before Jan. 11 are not affected by the court&S217;s decision. And Microsoft said it had &S220;put the wheels in motion to remove this little-used feature&S221; from versions of Word 2007 and Office 2007 that would be sold after that date.

The company said however, that it might appeal further, asking for either a rehearing in front of the appeals court&S217;s full panel of judges or in front of the Supreme Court.

Court Upholds Patent Ruling Against Microsoft

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- A razor-thin procedural vote in the Senate advancing a sweeping health-care bill was a "big victory" for Americans, President Barack Obama said Monday, as senators were on track to pass the White House-backed overhaul later this week.

Senators voted 60-40 at 1:16 a.m. Eastern to move on the bill, the first of three procedural votes before a final vote that could come on Christmas Eve.

The 60 votes were the minimum needed for passage. Not a single Republican voted for the bill. More procedural votes are scheduled for early Tuesday morning.

"The United States Senate knocked down a filibuster aimed at blocking a final vote on health-care reform, and scored a big victory for the American people," Obama said Monday morning. "The Senate has moved us closer to reform that makes a tremendous difference for families, for seniors, for businesses, and for the country as a whole," he added.

Shares of health insurers rallied on Monday following the early-morning vote. Read story about health-insurance stocks.

The Senate's bill is the most sweeping piece of health-care legislation in a generation and would extend insurance coverage to about 30 million Americans. It would raise taxes on medical-device makers and cut payments to providers of Medicare.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Democrats aren't over the finish line but "never have we been so close" to overhauling the U.S. health-care system.

Senate passes health bill

The health bill narrowly passed the Senate last night, setting up a Christmas Eve signing by the White House. The News Hub panel discusses what this means for consumers.

Republicans, who had called for the bill to be read on the floor in its entirety, maintain that the legislation will jack up premiums and health-care costs. Read more MarketWatch health-care reform coverage.

"A top-down bureaucratic government-run health-care system that will cost nearly a trillion dollars is not what the American people want," said Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele in a statement at about 1:30 a.m.

"If the liberals in Congress don't understand this by now, they will when the voters give them a pink slip in 2010," he added.

The legislation will cost $871 billion over 10 years, according to an estimate issued by the Congressional Budget Office instant personal loans guaranteed. Read CBO analysis of health bill.

It creates insurance exchanges, or marketplaces, where the uninsured and small businesses will be able to shop for coverage. The bill also requires most Americans to buy health insurance or pay a fine, and forces employers with more than 50 workers to offer health insurance or pay a fine. For the first time, insurers would be barred from denying coverage to sick people. Read text of bill and summaries.

Doctors applauded the Senate bill but health insurers gave it a mixed review.

"All Americans deserve affordable, high-quality health coverage so they can get the medical care they need -- and this bill advances many of our priority issues for achieving the vision of a health system that works for patients and physicians," said Cecil Wilson, the president-elect of the American Medical Association.

Wilson said the doctors' group was pleased the bill increases payments to primary care doctors and general surgeons in underserved areas but doesn't cut payments to other physicians.

"While the bill makes important improvements in access and takes steps towards cost-containment, it lacks accountability to ensure that costs are brought under control," said Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans, on Saturday.

If the Senate bill passes, it will need to be reconciled with the House's version, a more-liberal measure that contains a strong government-run health insurance option. That health plan, though, will almost certainly be left out of the final bill that makes it to Obama's desk for signature.

The Senate bill passed only after the government-run option was substituted with a plan for private insurance plans to be overseen by the government's Office of Personnel Management.

The bill is paid for with taxes on high-value insurance plans, Medicare and industries including medical-device manufacturers. It would also cut $480 billion from Medicare over 10 years, though Democrats say basic benefits won't be touched.

Health-care vote 'big victory,' Obama says

The insurance giant American International Group said on Tuesday that it had closed two debt-for-equity transactions that reduce its debt with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York by $25 billion.

A.I.G. said that under the agreement the New York Fed would receive preferred shares with a liquidation preference worth $16 billion in American Life Insurance Company and $9 billion in American International Assurance Company Ltd., which would be placed in special purpose vehicles .

The insurer said that the special purpose vehicles would prepare the two subsidiaries for initial public offerings or third-party sales, and in a separate statement said it was moving forward with the separation of American Life Insurance.

The liquidation preference is an undisclosed percentage of the estimated fair market value of the two A.I.G. units. A.I.G. retains the common interests in American Life and American International Assurance, and thus would benefit should the market valuation of the two units be in excess of $25 billion low fee payday loans.

A.I.G. said that as of Tuesday, its outstanding principal balance under the New York Fed credit facility was about $17 billion and the total amount available under the facility had been reduced to $35 billion from $60 billion.

&S220;We continue to focus on stabilizing and strengthening our businesses, but expect continued volatility in reported results in the coming quarters, due in part to charges related to ongoing restructuring activities,&S221; the A.I.G. chief executive, Bob Benmosche, said in a statement.

A.I.G. in Debt-for-Equity Swap With New York Fed

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Tuesday, ahead of data on third-quarter GDP and consumer confidence and following a strong advance in Monday&&9;s session.

The preliminary estimate on gross domestic product growth, November consumer sentiment data as well as the September Case/Shiller housing price index could provide insight into how firmly a recovery has taken hold.

"The data is going to be the market driver today, and after the rally we had yesterday, investors are waiting to see what the data comes in at before they jump in one way or the other," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New York.

"The market&&9;s momentum is still to the upside, so if the data is better than expected, we could see another strong rally."

Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N) reported a quarterly profit that matched its preliminary results late Monday, and said that while the economy remained challenging, it saw signs of a recovery.

H.J. Heinz Co (HNZ.N) posted a drop in second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, but lifted its full-year profit view.

Analog Devices Inc (ADI.N) and Brocade Communications Systems Inc (BRCD.O) both reported quarterly results that beat expectations late Monday quick cash. Analog Devices also forecast higher profit margins.

Investors have been closely watching the technology sector, which is generally considered one of the first to recover from recession.

S&P 500 futures rose 2.3 points and were modestly above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 2 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.25 points.

In overseas markets, Hong Kong and China stocks fell, with the Shanghai composite index (.SSEC) off 3.5 percent, dragged down by banks. European stocks were little changed, though financials were pressured.

Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama administration&&9;s pay czar, is being pressed by federal officials to relax executive compensation restrictions at American International Group Inc (AIG.N) for 2010, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources.

U.S. stocks snapped a three-day losing streak on Monday, as stronger-than-expected home sales data fueled optimism while a weaker dollar boosted commodity-linked stocks.

Futures flat ahead of data, after HP results

Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers paid their executives largely in stock, and that stock lost most or all of its value when those companies collapsed.

Many people on Wall Street say these examples help make the case that pay incentives were not what caused executives at these fallen firms to take excessive risks.

But three professors at Harvard are disputing that logic in a new study, saying it is an urban myth that executives at Bear and Lehman were wiped out along with their companies.

Though the chiefs at both investment banks lost more than $900 million in their stock holdings, the professors argue that it is important to also consider all the riches the bankers took off the table in the years preceding the crisis.

At Lehman, the top five executives received cash bonuses and proceeds from stock sales totaling $1 billion between 2000 and 2008, and at Bear, the top five received more than $1.4 billion, according to the study, which was released on Sunday night on the Web site of the Program on Corporate Governance at Harvard Law School.

The payouts came in the form of cash bonuses as well as thousands of shares of stock that the executives sold as the share prices of their companies soared. Most of the executives sold far more shares during that period than the number they held when their companies hit bottom.

&S220;There&S217;s no question they would have done massively better had their firms not collapsed,&S221; said Lucian Bebchuk, one of the study&S217;s authors. &S220;But the wealth of those top executives was hardly wiped out. The idea that they were devastated financially has kind of colored the picture people have about what payoffs they were facing.&S221;

Many of the solutions that policy makers and regulators are considering for Wall Street pay are tactics that were already in place at Lehman and Bear. Both firms required executives to wait several years before selling their stock. Both firms paid heavily in stock.

Critics of compensation reform have pointed to these two firms as examples of why change in pay practices may not make a difference and have said the focus should be on things like risk management and regulatory oversight.

However, the Harvard study says the executives may have had reason to focus on the short-term prices they could attain with stock selling.

Mr. Bebchuk has been advising the Treasury Department on compensation at bailed-out companies. He advocates locking up stock compensation for longer periods as well as pay clawback provisions for years later.

James E. Cayne, the former Bear chief executive, stands out for selling fewer shares over the years than he held at the firm&S217;s demise. Mr. Cayne sold 2,720,845 shares for $289 million over eight years, beginning in 2000. He was still holding 5,685,591 shares at the start of 2008 payday loan.

The other Bear executives sold nearly five times as many shares in the years leading up to the firm&S217;s collapse as they held in 2008, and at Lehman, the executives sold about 1.3 times the shares they owned at the end.

The study does not take into account that the executives might have sold shares in part to pay hefty tax bills. Shares of stock are not taxed until they transfer in ownership to executives, which was a period of multiple years at both investment banks. At that time, some executives sold the number of shares needed to pay the tax bill on the shares they still held.

Some compensation experts said over the weekend that the study did not seem to prove that compensation caused the crisis and that it instead just pointed out that the bankers were wealthy.

&S220;I don&S217;t think anybody would question that they were well compensated,&S221; said Ren&>33; Stulz, a professor at Ohio State University who has studied bank compensation. &S220;It&S217;s certainly true that the incentive effects are different if you&S217;re already very wealthy, but that does not mean that the incentive effects are not there.&S221;

Executives at companies that were bailed out by the government have in many cases had their stock holdings recover in value in the last year, and that might have been the case at Bear or Lehman if they had received the same treatment.

Shortly after Bear collapsed, Richard S. Fuld Jr., the chief executive at Lehman, called Peter J. Solomon, an investment banker who used to work at Lehman.

&S220;He reiterated the fact that when firms like Bear Stearns fold and if Lehman Brothers got into trouble, the executives own so much stock that they were losing a lot,&S221; Mr. Solomon recalled over the weekend.

But Mr. Solomon, who has been critical of pay levels and of the fact that investment banks are publicly traded, said the executives who presided over Wall Street&S217;s collapse have suffered, despite the money they retained.

&S220;There&S217;s not one person involved in the demise of Lehman Brothers, Bear or even the troubles that have fallen on Citigroup who thinks they&S217;re living happily ever after,&S221; Mr. Solomon said, &S220;because their reputations have been tarnished, and what do you have at the end of the day but your reputation?&S221;

Through intermediaries, several of the executives examined in the study declined to comment. The other authors of the study were Alma Cohen, a professor visiting Harvard from Tel Aviv University, and Holger Spamann, a lecturer at Harvard.

Executives Kept Wealth as Firms Failed, Study Says

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- After several months of improvement in housing, manufacturing and sales, the U.S. economic recovery appeared to sputter in October, leading investors and analysts to re-evaluate whether their forecasts were too rosy.

The economic data to be released in the holiday-shortened week ahead could provide a few more "what-were-we-thinking?" moments. All in all, though, the data shouldn't kill hopes for modest growth while we wait for the private sector to start hiring again.

Last week, a "reality check" rippled through the markets following weak data on housing starts and industrial production, said Nigel Gault and Brian Bethune, U.S. economists for IHS Global Insight. They expect further "mixed and somewhat ambiguous" reports in the coming week, but, on whole, they say "the evidence is still positive and continues to point to a nascent recovery" that will need "strong policy support" for some time.

MarketWatch consensus See economic calendar date report forecast previous Nov. 23 Existing-home sales 5.74 million 5.57 million Nov. 24 GDP revision 2.8%  3.5% Nov. 24 Consumer confidence 45.5 47.7 Nov. 25 Jobless claims 495,000 505,000 Nov. 25 Durable goods orders 0.5% 1.4% Nov. 25 Durables ex-transportation 0.4% 1.2% Nov. 25 Personal income 0.1% 0.0% Nov. 25 Consumer spending 0.6% -0.5% Nov. 25 New home sales 390,000 402,000 Nov. 25 Consumer sentiment 67.0 66.0 Housing

Even four years after the peak, the state of the housing market remains central to the medium-term outlook.

Construction, sales and prices picked up over recent months after hitting generational lows, boosted in part by federal policies and in part by improvement in some of the fundamentals. But the weakening in the October data ahead of the anticipated expiration of the federal home-buying subsidy has put the strength of those fundamentals to the test.

The home-buyer tax credit, of course, has now been extended and even expanded. But buyers and builders didn't know that in October.

Last week, we found out that builders cut back on permits and starts on single-family homes in October, in anticipation that the tax credit would expire on Nov. 30.

This week, we'll get October data on sales of new and existing homes.

Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expect sales of existing homes to rise about 3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.74 million. It would be the highest sales rate since June 2007. And it would reflect some sales of buyers rushing to get in ahead of the Nov. 30 deadline. Existing-home sales are recorded at closing.

By contrast, sales of new homes are recorded when the contract is signed, which is at least a month and often much more before the sale closes. To close on a sale before Nov. 30, a buyer would have had to sign contract in September or early October at the latest.

In part because the deadline would have passed for most buyers in October, sales of new homes are projected to have declined about 3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 390,000, the survey says easy payday loans. Sales of new homes have underperformed compared with existing homes, probably because buyers can get a better deal on a foreclosed home or on a home owned by someone who needs to sell, fast.

Federal policies are clearly supporting the market, but there is uncertainty about how strong it would be without the support. Economists for Barclays Capital say that sales of existing homes would have risen 10% without the tax credit, instead of the 24% that has been recorded with it.

Although home prices have fallen and mortgage rates are very low, the housing market faces considerable problems. Foreclosures continue to rise and vacancy rates are at record levels, which mean prices could fall another 5% to 10% by the middle of 2010, according to Jan Hatzius, chief economist for Goldman Sachs.

If prices, sales and construction do sag, banks are likely keep credit extremely tight, which in turn could weigh on the pace of recovery, Hatzius said.

GDP revisions

The other big story for the week could be the revision to third-quarter growth figures. Last month, the Commerce Department said real gross domestic product grew at a 3.5% annualized rate, the first gain in a year. On Tuesday, that figure is likely to be revised to about 2.8%.

The revision comes from more complete data. In the first go-around, the government statisticians must estimate many of the key inputs for September, including foreign trade, inventories and construction spending. Now that those data have been released, it's clear the first estimates were too big.

The largest source of revisions will come from nonresidential construction spending and net exports. Spending on nonresidential structures was weaker than first thought, while imports were stronger than believed, suggesting that more of the gains from increased sales in the third quarter accrued to foreign producers, rather than domestic companies. Inventories will be revised lower.

"Despite the likely downward revision, we still believe that the third quarter will prove to be the first quarter of recovery and that it demonstrates a decisive turn in the economy," wrote economists for Barclays Capital.

Economists see the economy growing at a pace just above its long-term trend. They expect GDP to grow 2.5% in the fourth quarter, 3% in the first quarter of 2010 and 3.5% in the second quarter. That's a far cry from the 6% growth seen in typical V-shaped recoveries, but it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

Of course, those are just forecasts. No one really knows for sure how the economy will do over the next 12 to 18 months.

Economic Preview: Do weaker data show recovery is stalling?

BARCELONA/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Chip stocks fell on Thursday after Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded the sector on a possible inventory correction, although two of Europe&&9;s top chipmakers were upbeat about recovery prospects.

BofA Merrill Lynch lowered its 2010 growth forecast for the global semiconductor industry and downgraded 10 chipmakers, including Intel Corp (INTC.O), turning more cautious on the group on expectations of a modest overshoot in global supply chain inventories.

"While we believe the correction will likely prove short and shallow, we think any hint of a correction in the supply chain could punish (semiconductor) stocks," BofA Merrill wrote in a note to clients.

The downgrade came two weeks after Morgan Stanley analyst Mark Lipacis noted that the good news for many semiconductor stocks had already been "baked in" and PC component suppliers would have a difficult time beating expectations.

Auriga analyst Daniel Berenbaum said notions of a strong rebound for the industry next year may not be realistic.

"Things wound up better this year than some of our worst fears, but I think demand has been pulled forward," he said. "I&&9;m concerned that everybody expects a corporate PC refresh in 2010 -- maybe it&&9;ll happen, maybe it won&&9;t happen, but I do believe it&&9;s already built into stocks."

Shares of chipmakers fell across the board on Thursday. Bellwether Intel dropped 4.5 percent, smaller rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.N) 2.7 percent and Infineon Technologies AG (IFXGn.DE) fell 7 percent. The DJ STOXX European Technology Index (.SX8P) shed 2.9 percent and the Philadelphia semiconductor index (.SOXX) fell 3.5 percent.

German chip group Infineon was bullish on its fiscal 2010 outlook, saying sales could grow by more than 10 percent if the world economy continued to grow at its present pace. But analysts weren&&9;t convinced.

Traders saw as negative remarks by Infineon Chief Executive Peter Bauer that the company would need to boost profit margins well above 10 percent as it seeks to generate sustainable earnings amid the current recovery quick cash.

"Despite Infineon beating consensus estimates, we expected better numbers for the fourth quarter, as well as a more optimistic outlook for the running quarter, following bullish statements from competitors," Sal Oppenheim analyst Juergen Wagner wrote, keeping a "reduce" rating on the stock.

Dutch chip equipment maker ASML Holding NV (ASML.AS) -- whose order book is viewed as a barometer for major chipmakers such as Intel or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (2330.TW) -- also said that it still expects order intake in October-December to be at least on the same level as in the previous quarter.

But shares in ASML closed down 6.14 percent after BofA Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock to "neutral" from "buy."

Around the globe, chipmakers are recovering from a prolonged downturn. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS), the world&&9;s top maker of memory chips and LCD screens, in late October posted its best quarterly net profit and forecast a strong 2010 due to global turnaround in the sector.

Earlier this week, research firm Gartner raised its forecasts for the chip market in 2009, saying it now sees it falling 11.4 percent to &&6;226 billion, compared with a previous forecast for a 17 percent fall.

Next year Gartner sees the market growing 13 percent.

Taiwan&&9;s TSMC, the world&&9;s top contract chip maker, also posted its biggest quarterly net profit in a year last month and was bullish about future capital spending, aiming to invest &&6;2.5 billion on upgrading its technology.

(Additional reporting by Tenzin Pema, S. John Tilak in Bangalore; Nicola Leske in Barcelona and Hakan Ersen and Tyler Sitte in Frankfurt; Editing by David Cowell and Gerald E. McCormick)

Chip stocks fall on downgrade, CEOs talk recovery

Hot News: U.S. Q3 seen revised down on widening trade deficit

COLUMBUS, Ohio – After Richard Handy of Fairfield received an e-mail from a conservative group calling Gov. Ted Strickland's proposed delay of Ohio's income tax cuts a "retroactive tax increase," Handy fired off a few passionate words to some state senators.

"I am absolutely against changing the rules in the middle of the game," wrote Handy in an Oct. 19 e-mail about Strickland's proposal to delay the final 4.2 percent reduction in income taxes to close an $850 million budget gap.

"I am sure the vast majority of Ohioans agree with me in opposing this idiotic proposal ... If Ohio needs more money, STOP SPENDING! That's what budgets are for."

An Associated Press public records request for constituent correspondence to legislative leaders on the tax proposal found that most was fueled by organized interests — the anti-tax group Americans for Prosperity that opposed it, and school teachers and employees and mental health service providers that supported it.

Some Republicans have argued that because current law has the last tax cut in place and because withholding for the tax year has already started, Strickland's tax proposal is a tax increase.

But the relatively light feedback from constituents in comparison to other legislative issues, including the budget earlier this year, suggests that most Ohioans are not particularly inflamed by the tax talk.

Lawmakers considering what to do about the budget gap received both dry form letters distributed among like-minded individuals and more personal — and sometimes humorous — pleas.

"CUT SPENDING! That's what my husband and I are doing, that's what my neighbors are doing," wrote Alice Martin of Huron to Republican Senate President Bill Harris of Ashland on Oct. 20. "I'll bet your wife could explain it to you!"

Peg Carter fired off a few quick words when she was crunched for time.

"I don't have much time here at the library internet because I have ice cream in the car," Carter wrote guaranteed payday loans. "I do think that Ohioans who are still working, are able to accept a tax freeze — in light of your pay cuts — in order to provide help for those who have lost their jobs because of the economy."

The tax proposal approved by the Democratic-controlled House and pending in the Republican-controlled Senate includes a 5 percent pay cut for lawmakers.

Teachers and employees from several school districts used form letters, the most common e-mails sent to legislative leaders on the issue. Democratic lawmakers have said that delaying the tax reduction will protect school funding from both state and federal cuts, even naming the proposal the Education Funding Protection Act.

"My district cannot afford to lose state and federal funding," Debra McRoberts of Westerville told Harris in an Oct. 19 missive. "This will force our district to reduce learning opportunities for students and lead to further elimination of education employees."

The same letter was sent to Harris and House Speaker Armond Budish, D-Beachwood, from school personnel in Mount Vernon, Perrysburg, Sunbury, Shelby, Mansfield and other towns.

Many e-mails sent to Republican leaders opposing the tax proposal called it a "retroactive tax increase," a description the Strickland administration said is inaccurate. Several constituents said they received an e-mail from Americans for Prosperity describing it as "retroactive."

The state constitution bans retroactive laws. And Ohio Department of Taxation spokesman John Kohlstrand noted that "retroactive" is a legal term. He said a retroactive tax hike would be, for example, if lawmakers changed the tax rate for the 2008 tax year after that year is over.

Proposed delay of Ohio tax cuts spurs e-mails

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks added to gains in early trade on Monday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 rising 1 percent, after a pledge from the Group of 20 to keep economic stimulus in place bolstered risk appetite.

* Gains were broad-based, with natural resource-oriented companies and technology shares among the biggest advancers.

* The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) gained 80.64 points, or 0 payday loans.80 percent, to 10,104.06. The Standard & Poor&&9;s 500 Index (.SPX) rose 9.69 points, or 0.91 percent, to 1,078.99. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) added 23.34 points, or 1.10 percent, to 2,135.78.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

Stocks lifted by revived risk appetite

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks gained sharply on Thursday after an expansion in business productivity and a fall in jobless claims boosted investor confidence about the economy, while Cisco led gains in tech shares.

U.S. non-farm productivity rose more than expected in the third quarter as companies squeezed more output from a smaller pool of labor, while fewer U.S. workers filed new jobless insurance claims than forecast last week -- hitting a 10-month low.

Cisco (CSCO.O) shares gained 2.2 percent to &&6;23.79 after the company reported earnings late on Wednesday. The technology bellwether reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue, and its board authorized up to &&6;10 billion in stock buybacks.

"We opened on good news from Cisco and the market just moved up higher on better news on productivity and unemployment numbers ... The next news that will move the market will be the raft of earnings after the bell today, and the unemployment numbers tomorrow," said Stephen Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) gained 172.76 points, or 1.76 percent, to 9,974.90. The Standard & Poor&&9;s 500 Index (.SPX) advanced 15.95 points, or 1.52 percent, to 1,062.45. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) rose 44.18 points, or 2.15 percent, to 2,099.70.

On Friday, the Labor Department is expected to report that fewer jobs were cut in October than in the previous month companies making payday loans. But the jobless rate is expected to rise to 9.9 percent, exceeding a 26-year high of 9.8 percent in September. Economists polled by Reuters have forecast a loss of 175,000 jobs in October, sharply below the 263,000 jobs cut in the previous month.

In Thursday&&9;s session at midday, other technology stocks also advanced. Intel Corp (INTC.O) gained 2.2 percent to &&6;19.00 and Microsoft (MSFT.O) rose 2.2 percent to &&6;28.68.

Shares of IMS Health Inc (RX.N) soared 23.5 percent to &&6;20.76 after the company agreed to be bought by TPG and CPP Investment board. The deal was valued at &&6;5.2 billion, including the assumption of debt.

But CVS Caremark Corp (CVS.N) tumbled 19.7 percent to &&6;29.04 after comments from Chief Executive Tom Ryan on weakness in the pharmacy benefit management business.

U.S. retail chains reported October sales that rebounded from the lows of a year ago, but many failed to surpass Wall Street&&9;s increased expectations as consumers spend selectively headed into the holiday season.

The S&P retail index (.RLX) rose 1.2 percent.

(Reporting by Angela Moon, Editing by Jan Paschal)

Stocks rally on data; Cisco earnings lift techs

CHICAGO, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rallied to a 3-day high on Thursday as a dropping dollar refueled gold's demand of hedge. Silver and platinum both rose.

The most active gold contract for December delivery soared 16.60 U.S. dollars, or 1.6 percent, to finish at the highest level of 1,047.10 dollars an ounce in recent 3 sessions. After a 4 session rally, dollar saw its first drop in recent 5 sessions on Thursday, dragged by a higher-than-expected GDP report.

The commerce Department said the U.S. GDP grew unexpectedly by 3.5 percent on an annual basis in the third quarter, ending a streak of declines over four quarters. This made investors more interested in high risk currencies for more profits.

By the end of gold floor trading time, the dollar index, a gauge measuring the greenback's value against a basket of major currencies, dropped 0 overnight pay day loans.52 to 76.065, raising gold's demand of hedge and haven.

Surging energy prices also helped the precious metal end higher.Pushed by dollar's sharp declines, the benchmark crude contract for December delivery in New York rose 2.67 dollars and returned above 80 dollars a barrel when gold closed.

December silver was up 41.5 cents to 16.655 dollars per ounce. January platinum gained 31.30 dollars to 1338.20 dollars an ounce.

Gold bounces to 3-day high as dollar weakens on GDP report

LONDON &S212; Qatar announced Tuesday that it would sell a part of its stake in the British bank Barclays after the value of its investment almost doubled.

Qatar&S217;s sovereign wealth fund said it would sell 379 million shares in the bank, exercising warrants that it agreed to buy a year ago when the bank was suffering at the height of the financial crisis.

The fund will retain a 7 percent stake in Barclays and will remain the bank&S217;s largest shareholder.

Barclays&S217; shares rose five-fold over the last eight months after the bank avoided the government&S217;s cash injection, it acquired Lehman Brothers&S217; assets in the United States and benefited from strong earnings at its securities unit.

Qatar would make a profit of about &<63;634 million, or $1 billion, on the investment based on Monday&S217;s share price as it pays 198 pence a share to exercise the warrants.

Barclays is set to get &<63;750 million as a result of the sale to strengthen its capital base, Qatar said.

Shares in Barclays were quoted at 363 pence in early afternoon trading in London Tuesday, down 5 percent.

&S220;The decision to exercise the warrants and dispose of the resultant shares forms part of Qatar Holding&S217;s portfolio management program and does not impact on our current intention to remain a long-term strategic shareholder in Barclays,&S221; Ahmad Al-Sayed, the investment group&S217;s chief executive, said in a statement fast cash.

The sale renewed speculation among some investors that Qatar&S217;s sovereign wealth fund could be raising cash for another acquisition.

Shares of the British supermarket chain J Sainsbury jumped as much as 20 percent last Thursday because some investors expected Qatar to make a takeover bid or try to increase its current shareholding of about 15 percent.

Shares in Sainsbury, which rebuffed a takeover proposal by Qatar in 2007, rose 4 percent Tuesday in London.

The Barclays chief executive John Varley said the effect of the share sale &S220;will be further to broaden the base of our share register.&S221;

&S220;Qatar Holdings is our largest shareholder and a key partner,&S221; he said.

Qatar initially bought a 6.2 percent stake in Barclays in July last year and increased the holding to about 7 percent, excluding warrants and share options, in October because the bank needed to raise capital to avoid taking government aid.

At that time, Barclays also sold shares and warrants to Abu Dhabi&S217;s royal family and Challenger Universal, another Qatari investment vehicle.

Qatar Takes Profit on Stake in Barclays

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Anil Kumar, charged with other executives over the biggest hedge fund insider-trading scheme, has sought leave from the board of a top Indian business school that he helped set up.

U.S. investigators have charged billionaire hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam, Kumar and executives from prestigious U.S. firms such as IBM (IBM.N) and the venture capital arm of Intel (INTC.O) with insider trading.

Ajit Rangnekar, dean at the Indian School of Business (ISB), told Reuters by telephone on Monday that Kumar had asked the chairman for leave of absence "until he sorts this out."

Kumar, a director at consulting firm McKinsey, is a co-founder of the ISB, whose governing board reads like a mini-Who&&9;s Who of global business, drawing on leaders from LVMH (LVMH.PA) and Dell (DELL payday loans for bad credit.O) to Citigroup (C.N) and Goldman Sachs (GS.N).

The Hyderabad-based ISB ranked 15th in the Financial Times 2009 global MBA rankings, and placed second among Asia&&9;s business schools.

Last year, Mendu Rammohan Rao, a former ISB dean, resigned from the board of Satyam Computer Services (SATY.BO) after the Indian firm&&9;s botched attempt to buy two infrastructure firms linked to its founder.

Satyam was rebranded as Mahindra-Satyam this year after it was bought by smaller rival Tech Mahindra (TEML.BO) in the wake of India&&9;s largest corporate fraud.

(Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Anshuman Daga & Ian Geoghegan)

Insider-trading accused seeks leave from India's ISB

RIO DE JANEIRO &<51; Environmental groups hailed a decision this week by four of the world&S217;s largest meat producers to ban the purchase of cattle from newly deforested areas of Brazil&S217;s Amazon rain forest.

At a conference on Monday in S&>27;o Paulo organized by Greenpeace, the four cattle companies &<51; Bertin, JBS-Friboi, Marfrig and Minerva &<51; agreed to support Greenpeace&S217;s call for an end to the deforestation.

Brazil has the world&S217;s largest cattle herd and is the world&S217;s largest beef exporter, but it is also the fourth largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions. Destruction of tropical forests around the world is estimated to be responsible for about 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Greenpeace contends that the cattle industry in the Amazon is the biggest driver of global deforestation. But the Brazilian government, while pushing ambitious goals to slow deforestation in the Amazon, is also a major financer and shareholder in global beef and leather processors that profit from cattle raised in areas of the Amazon that have been destroyed, often illegally, according to Greenpeace.

The four cattle producers agreed on Monday to monitor their supply chains and set clear targets for the registration of farms that supply cattle, both directly and indirectly. They also said they would devise measures to end the purchase of cattle from indigenous and protected areas, and from farms that use slave labor.

Environmental groups called the decision a major step forward for climate protection.

&S220;This agreement shows that in today&S217;s world someone that wants to be a global player cannot be associated with deforestation and with slave labor,&S221; said Marcelo Furtado, executive director of Greenpeace in Brazil fast payday loans.

The agreement came after the release in June of a report by Greenpeace, &S220;Slaughtering the Amazon,&S221; which detailed the link between forest destruction and the expansion of cattle ranching in the Amazon.

The report led some multinational companies, including shoe manufacturers like Adidas, Nike and Timberland, to pledge to cancel contracts unless they received guarantees that their products were not associated with cattle or slave labor in the Amazon. Beef customers like McDonald&S217;s and Wal-Mart also pressed producers to change their practices in the Amazon, Mr. Furtado said.

Blairo Maggi, the governor of Mato Grosso, the Brazilian state with the highest rate of deforestation in the Amazon and the country&S217;s largest cattle herd, said Monday that he would support efforts to protect the Amazon and provide high-resolution satellite imagery to help monitor the region.

Mr. Furtado said that the Brazilian Association of Supermarkets had also signed on to the agreement, further ensuring compliance by the meat producers.

Conspicuously missing from Monday&S217;s announcement was the government of President Luiz In&>25;cio Lula da Silva of Brazil. The government is struggling to reconcile its social and development goals in the Amazon with its desire to be a major player in global climate change talks.

Giants in Cattle Industry Agree to Help Fight Deforestation

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