The biggest threat to Brazil’s economy next year is the acceleration of growth beyond 6.5 percent, Banco Safra de Investimento said.

“As long as growth estimates stay between 5.5 percent and 6.5 percent, it is still possible for the central bank to manage the growth-inflation issue,” Cristiano Oliveira, chief economist at Banco Safra, said in a telephone interview from Sao Paulo. “Above that, it will be difficult.”

Banco Safra — wholly owned by Joseph Safra, the world’s 62nd richest person, according to Forbes magazine — forecasts the central bank will raise the benchmark interest rate to 10.75 percent by the end of 2010 from a record low of 8.75 percent.

Consumer spending and capital expenditures will boost growth in Latin America’s largest economy to 5.6 percent next year, following an estimated 0.2 percent contraction in 2009, Oliveira said. Brazilian economists project a 5.1 percent expansion in 2010, according to a weekly central bank survey of about 100 financial institutions published today.

Increasing imports and profit remittances by multinationals to headquarters abroad will widen next year’s current-account deficit to “at least $54 billion,” Oliveira said. Brazilian economists expect a record $40.8 billion shortfall, according to the central bank survey.

The current-account deficit will be more than offset by $62 billion in foreign direct and portfolio investments, lifting the real to 1.65 per U.S. dollar by the end of next year, Oliveira said. The currency gained 1.2 percent at 1.7415 per dollar at 1:50 p.m. in New York, compared with 1.7630 on Dec. 24.

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Flash memory maker SanDisk Corp. has been of the hottest stocks on the market in December, up 52 percent in the past 19 trading sessions.

Milpitas-based SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) has gathered a number of positive analyst ratings during that time but there has been little else to explain investors' enthusiasm.

Its stock rose to a 52-week high of $30.14 in trading on Christmas Eve before closing at $30.13. It has more than quadrupled since hitting a 52-week low of $7.73 in March.

In its most recent quarterly earnings report, SanDisk posted a $231.3 million profit on a 14 percent rise in revenue to $935.2 million.

CEO Eli Harari said at the time, "We are encouraged by improved industry fundamentals and our increasingly diversified global markets, which bode well for further growth in the fourth quarter and in 2010 easy fast payday loans."

That followed word in September that South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Corp. had officially dropped a bid to buy SanDisk. Samsung's $5.85 billion offer was rejected last year as too low and later withdrawn.

The companies in May also signed a patent-license deal that reduces the threat of litigation between them in the flash-memory chip market.

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WASHINGTON–Home resales surged in the United States last month to the highest level in nearly three years, reflecting an extraordinary level of federal support that has pulled the housing market back from the worst downturn since the Great Depression.

Buyers were racing to complete their sales before the original expiration date of a tax credit for first-time buyers that was scheduled to expire Nov. 30. Last month, Congress extended the credit to ensure the market could sustain its recovery.

"Things are stabilizing," said Pete Flint, chief executive of real estate website trulia.com. "There is a significant amount of buyer interest out there.”

About two million homebuyers have taken advantage of the credit so far, the National Association of Realtors said. The group forecasts that another 2.4 million will use it by the middle of next year. First-time buyers made up about half of all transactions last month, driving sales up 44 per cent above last year’s levels, a record jump.

November’s sales rose 7.4 per cent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.54 million, from a downwardly revised pace of 6.09 million in October, the realtors group said. It was the highest level since February 2007. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 6.25 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Sales are now up 46 per cent from the bottom in January, but down 10 per cent from the peak more than four years ago. The inventory of unsold homes fell about 1 per cent to 3.5 million. That’s a healthy 6.5 month supply, the lowest level in three years.

The median sales price was $172,600 (U.S.), down 4.3 per cent from a year earlier, and up 0.2 per cent from October. Analysts said the new tax credit deadline means sales will drop during the winter months and recover in the spring.

Associated Press

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NEW YORK – General Motors Co. said Friday it will shut down Saab after talks to sell the brand to a Dutch carmaker collapsed, marking the third time this year that a deal by GM to sell an unwanted brand has fallen through.

GM said it had a small window of time to complete the deal and issues arose during the sale talks with Spyker Cars that could not be resolved. GM Vice President John Smith said representatives from GM, Spyker and the Swedish government were still in discussions Friday morning when talks fell apart. Smith declined to elaborate on the reasons.

"We've been trying to restart, if you will, an investment process without a great deal of time," Smith, who is in charge of GM's corporate planning and alliances, said during a conference call with reporters. "Like everybody, we would have preferred a different outcome, and we all worked very hard for that different outcome and we've come up short.''

Saab employs about 3,400 people worldwide, most of whom work at its main plant in Trollhatten, Sweden. It also has a parts distribution center and a design center in separate locations in Sweden and an engine plant in Finland.

The brand has 1,100 dealers, whom GM said will continue to honor warranties as the brand winds down.

"It's devastating. It was a very unique brand," said Ray Ciccolo, owner of two Saab dealerships in the Boston area, one of which has been in business since 1957.

The announcement marks the death of brand with a small yet loyal following. To enthusiasts, the Swedish company became appreciated for quirks like placing the ignition lock between the front seats rather than on the steering column. It was the first to offer heated seating in 1971.

GM bought a 50 percent stake and management control of Saab for $600 million after Saab split from Swedish truck maker Scania in 1989. It bought full ownership in 2000 for $125 million. But even after the GM takeover, Saab remained closely associated with Sweden and its history of making safe, reliable cars.

GM never made money on the acquisition and industry analysts complained that under GM, Saab lost its uniqueness in the crowded luxury segment.

GM first sought a buyer for Saab in January as part of its restructuring, which included plans to cut the number of its brands to four from eight. It was previously in talks to sell Saab to a consortium led by the Swedish sports car maker Koenigsegg Group AB, but it turned to Spyker after Koenigsegg withdrew from the talks in November.

GM's Smith said it is possible other buyers could emerge, adding that the brand still has vehicles in development "that might be attractive to some folks." But no such buyers have stepped forward and the liquidation of the brand will begin in early January.

"I can't rule it out, but I guess the clock starts now … on those kinds of expressions of interest," Smith said. He declined to say how much it might cost to wind down the brand.

On Monday, China's Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings – originally part of the Koenigsegg consortium – announced it had agreed to buy some powertrain technology from Saab personal loans for bad credit. It gave no details of costs or timing of that purchase.

On Friday, Beijing Autos said it wants to explore further cooperation with GM's Saab Automobile such as "new energy vehicles." However, Smith said the company has not shown any interest in buying the rest of the brand.

The Swedish government called the decision "surprising and regretful.''

"It's GM who took this decision, on their own grounds, and they have to answer to that by themselves," Enterprise Minister Maud Olofsson said at a news conference in Trollhattan.

Representatives of the Swedish industrial workers' union, IF Metall, declined to comment on GM's announcement. Hakan Johansson, a Saab worker at the Trollhattan plant, told broadcaster Swedish Radio he was devastated by the news.

"It's not a good Christmas gift," he said.

GM's failure to sell Saab is the third deal to sell an unwanted brand that has fallen through this year.

In September, auto dealership chain owner Roger Penske scrapped plans to buy Saturn after an agreement to get cars from France's Renault fell through. GM is now phasing out Saturn.

GM's board last month ended a deal to sell the European Opel brand to a group led by Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc., fearing that Opel was too heavily integrated into GM's global operations and that GM technology would fall into the hands of competitors.

GM will keep and restructure Opel, which unlike Saab, is considered critical to its international vehicle development.

One success has been GM's effort to sell Hummer. The brand is going to Chinese heavy equipment maker Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corp.

Niche brands like Saab have been especially hard hit by the drop in auto sales as the few customers in the market are looking for more mainstream models, said Rebecca Lindland, auto industry analyst for the consulting firm IHS Global Insight.

Those difficulties make it hard for GM to sell some of its smaller brands as it restructures. GM failed to find a buyer for Saturn earlier this year and backed off plans to sell Opel to a consortium of buyers.

"This is a bad time to sell your house and it is a bad time to sell car companies," Lindland said. "This market is incredibly challenging right now because these are capital intensive purchases.''

Sales of Saab cars reached an all-time high in 2006, when GM sold 133,000 cars globally. Sales slipped to 125,000 in 2007 and fell to 93,000 in 2008.

In the U.S., Saab sold 7,812 cars through November this year, down 61 percent from the same period last year. Most of those sales came from two models, the 9-7X SUV and the 9-3 sports sedan.

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KaChing Group Inc., which runs an online service that lets individual investors emulate the trading decisions of qualified skilled investors, has received $7.5 million in a financing round led by DAG Ventures.

Palo Alto-based kaChing launched its platform in October. The company charges users an average 1.25 percent annually, as compared to the 3 percent it says is common in mutual funds saving account payday loan.

The company previously raised $3 million from individuals including Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz, Jeff Jordan, CEO of Open Table and former president of PayPal and various other well known venture capitalists.

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The Toronto Stock market ended the session in positive territory after investors pulled up energy stocks in hopes that Exxon Mobil's US$31-billion acquisition of U.S. oil and gas company XTO Energy Inc. could mean other deals in the sector.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed 121.76 points higher to 11,545.69, with shares of nearly every major Canadian energy player higher.

The energy sector was up 2.2 per cent as investors speculated over other possible takeovers within the industry.

The January crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed the session down 36 cents to US$69.51 a barrel.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi's $10-billion bailout to Dubai gave markets a jolt of optimism. The debt repayments quelled fears that the emirate would default and signal a new round of broader credit problems.

"What we're seeing is continued small steps towards fixing in the financial system, towards strengthening the various places that are weak," said Kate Warne, Canadian markets specialist at Edward Jones in St. Louis.

"That certainly doesn't eliminate all the possible things that can go wrong, but every small step is a step in the right direction."

TSX gold stocks were up 1.5 per cent as the February bullion contract on the Nymex rose $3.90 to US$1,122.80 an ounce.

The base metals sector launched the biggest gain of the day, up 2.9 per cent as the March copper contract gained two cents to US$3.15 a pound.

The Canadian dollar gained 0.05 of a cent to 94.40 cents U.S., while the TSX Venture Exchange was up 7.97 points to 1,425.08.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average moved up 29.55 points to 10,501.05. The Nasdaq composite index gained 21 guaranteed payday loan.79 points to 2,212.10, while the S&P 500 index climbed 7.7 points to 1,114.11.

Citigroup Inc. said it will pay back $20 billion in bailout money it received as part of the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The New York-based bank was hardest hit by the credit crisis and rising loan defaults, receiving a total of $45 billion in government support. It only needs to pay back $20 billion because the remaining $25 billion was converted into a 34 per cent ownership stake in the bank earlier this year.

Statistics Canada reported that Canadian industries operated at 67.5 per cent of their production capacity in the third quarter, down marginally from 67.7 in the second quarter.

Also in the energy sector, Husky Energy Inc. (TSX: HSE) shares moved higher after the company said it plans to increase its capital spending by 20 per cent to $3.1 billion in 2010. Shares rose 1.6 per cent, or 48 cents, to $28.98.

Inter Pipeline Fund (TSX: IPL.UN) units gained 11 cents to $10.93 after the company announced it plans capital expenditures of more than $292 million next year, with most of it going toward its oil sands transportation segment.

TMX Group (TSX: X) shares were up 98 cents to $31.34 after it announced it will distribute trading data across U.S. and Europe on NYSE network under new data technology and distribution agreement.

Kirkland Lake Gold Inc. (TSX: KGI) said a borehole collapse widened net losses to $10.3 million for the quarter ended Oct. 31, and weakened revenues to $6.9 million, from $8.8 million last year. Shares rose 16 cents to $9.45.

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Not all credit card rewards programs are created equal, Denis Agar discovered a few years ago while trying to decide which card would give his family the biggest payback.

The 21-year-old student of urban planning ended up talking his dad into choosing the MBNA Starwood Preferred Guest MasterCard.

The card, linked to the Starwood hotel chain, paid out rewards worth as much as 6 per cent of the value of a hotel stay, a level far exceeding the industry average of 2 per cent.

Agar says the family did not use the hotel’s services much, except on holidays, but it still paid off because it came with so many bonus points and special offers. The card recently has been discontinued.

Agar decided to help others make the same informed decision. He created a chart based on card issuers’ publicly available information.

"You see the ad and it says `Earn points!’ And then you look at the fine print and it says (the rate is) 0.05 per cent (of the value of goods purchased)," Agar notes. That means for every $100 you spend, you get back 50 cents worth of free stuff, not a very good deal in his estimation No teletrack payday loans.

The chart is published on www.redflagdeals.com, Canada’s largest comparison-shopping site, with 2.2 million unique visitors a month. His review is limited to the top 20 no-fee cards that offer rewards programs.

His current top pick is the MBNA Smart Cash Card (it pays 3 per cent in points on the value of all grocery and gas station buys). He adds other good choices might better meet your shopping patterns or goals.

Some rewards are better value than others, he adds, because retailers set the reward cost based on the value to them as a business.

To maximize points, use your card everywhere and remember 200 points on one card is worth more than 100 points each on two cards.

Agar added new advice this year:

"Be mindful of the fact that Tim Hortons can probably swallow the credit card fees, but your local independent coffee shop might have a harder time with that."

Dana Flavelle

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The number of Americans filing for initial unemployment insurance jumped last week, the government said Thursday, with a figure that was above analysts’ expectations.

There were 474,000 initial job claims filed in the week ended Dec. 5, up 17,000 from the previous week’s unrevised 457,000, the lowest level since September 2008, the Labor Department said in its weekly report.

A consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected 455,000 new claims.

The 4-week moving average of initial claims was 473,750, down 7,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 481,500

"Today’s number is less surprising than last week’s and takes the wind out of the sails for hopes of a super fast recovery. But 474,000 would have been a welcoming number not too long ago." Said Tim Quinlan, economist at Wells Fargo. "We’re still seeing a gradual, relative improvement in the job market."

Continuing claims: The government said 5,157,000 people filed continuing claims in the week ended Nov. 28, the most recent data available. That’s 303,000 down from the preceding week’s revised 5,460,000 claims.

The 4-week moving average for ongoing claims fell by 123,500 to 5,416,500 from the previous week’s revised 5,540,000.

But the slide may signal that more filers are dropping off those rolls into extended benefits.

Continuing claims reflect people filing each week after their initial claim until the end of their standard benefits, which usually last 26 weeks. The figures do not include those who have moved to state or federal extensions, or people whose benefits have expired.

Congress passed legislation last month to extend federally paid benefits up to 99 weeks, depending on the state, but the law only helps those who exhaust the unemployment lifelines by the year’s end no fax payday loans.

Lawmakers in the House and the Senate introduced bills last week to push the deadline to apply for unemployment benefits as far back as 2011.

State-by-state: Jobless claims in 21 states declined by more than 1,000 for the week ended Nov. 28, the most recent data available. Claims in California dropped the most, by 28,672, which the state attributed to a shorter work week due to the Thanksgiving holiday and fewer layoffs in the service industry.

Seven states said the claims increased by more than 1,000. Claims in Wisconsin jumped by 8,067, which a state-supplied comment said was due to layoffs in the construction, service and manufacturing industries.

Outlook. While claims popped from their downward trajectory, Quinlan said the figure is lower than the number filed in October and most of November, and a significant improvement from the filings in March that were above 600,000.

"One week is not a trend maker," said Quinlan, adding that when claims fell from 580,000 to 534,000 between mid-August and mid-September, they jumped back up above 550,000 in the last week of September before declining again.

"We’ve seen a recovery in every sector of the economy except the job market, and now that last segment is finally falling into place," he said. "The second half of 2009 has been characterized by a slowing in the pace of job losses. The first half of 2010, we should see actual job growth."  

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Good-bye, Big Blue.

Whoa, calm down there – Biz isn’t talking about IBM. Rather, Biz means the area’s other big blue behemoth: Terminal 1 at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The RDU Airport Authority is making plans to renovate the aging facility in the coming years, and a new outside color will be part of the changes.

“We’re going to paint that blue out,” says Chairman Robb Teer, who adds that a new canopy system probably will be built. “I think that alone will give it a modern twist.”

While Teer insists that the authority hasn’t chosen a replacement color, he says beige and silver are being considered.

Hmmph. That’s a little boring, don’t you think? And Biz bets that Airport Director John Brantley, an N.C. State grad, would prefer something in the red family.

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Retailers placed a lot of hope on the Thanksgiving weekend gift buying this year, but merchants failed to get the big sales boost they were seeking.

According to monthly same-store tracker Thomson Reuters, overall sales rose just 0.5% last month versus its forecast for a 2.1% increase. The figure does not include leading retailer Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, Fortune 500), which reports sales on a quarterly basis.

The firm tracks same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, for such large national chains as J.C. Penney (JCP, Fortune 500), Macy’s, Target (TGT, Fortune 500) and Gap (GPS, Fortune 500).

Still, the marginal increase is an improvement over last year’s steep 7.8% decline in November.

"The fundamentals for many Americans are still weak," said Scott Hoyt, senior director of consumer economics with Moody’s Economy.com.

"Unemployment is more than 10%, wages are not growing, the effects of the stimulus measure designed to boost spending have worn out and no more are coming," he said.

Among these factors, the biggest overhang on consumer spending is the job market, Hoyt said. "Consumer spending will turn when the job market improves," he said.

Some specialty sellers were hit especially hard. Among them same-store sales at teen clothing chain Hot Topic fell 11.7%. last month. Analysts had expected a decline of 8.1%, according to sales tracker Thomson Reuters.

Children’s Place, a seller of clothing and accessories for young kids, suffered a 13% drop in its same-store sales versus expectations for a 1% increase.

Sales at another youth merchandise chain Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) slumped 17%

Elsewhere, total sales at No. 1 warehouse club operator Costco (COST, Fortune 500) rose 6% compared to a forecast for an increase of 8.1%. Target, the No payday loans with no fax. 2 discounter after Wal-Mart, said its sales declined 1.5%.

"Sales were slightly below our expectations as softer results in the first three weeks of the month were substantially offset by better-than-expected sales during our post-Thanksgiving Two-Day sale," Gregg Steinhafel, CEO of Target Corporation, said in a statement.

"For the month overall, comparable store transactions were positive and inventories remain well-controlled, giving us confidence in our ability to perform well during the holiday season in what continues to be a challenging economic environment," he said.

Sales at department store chain J.C. Penney declined 5.9%, which the company said was in line with its expectations of a decline between 4% to 7% while sales at Macy’s fell 6.1%.

But there were a few bright spots. Limited Brands, parent of Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works chains, increased its same-store sales by 3% in November and high-end seller Nordstrom logged a 2.2% gain in its sales last month.

November is a critical month for retailers since it marks the start of the year-end holiday shopping season, typically on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

November and December together can account for 50% or more of merchants’ annual sales and profits for the full year.

Although many Americans have had a year to absorb shocks to the economy and to their own household budgets, industry watchers say continued job losses and stagnant income growth are forcing most consumers to keep shopping with extreme caution.

Given that context, the National Retail Federation (NRF) expects holiday sales to decline 1% this year, a improvement from last year’s 3.4% drop in sales for the season. 

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