TSX closes higher for 6th straight session (Reuters)
Reuters – The Toronto Stock Exchange’s main index rallied to its sixth straight gain on Friday as financials surged higher on hopes that U.S. stimulus efforts unveiled this week would help boost the economy.

European stocks up as Dow eyes 5th day of gains (AP)

AP – European stock markets closed higher Friday after the Dow Jones index of leading U.S. shares advanced for the fifth consecutive day in a shortened trading session. Asian markets were higher despite the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

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Bloomberg Partners with Sermo Online Medical Community to Build Healthcare Marketplace for Investors
Bloomberg partners with online medical community to provide professional investors with access to thousands of practicing physicians.

Harte-Hanks Trillium Software Delivers Data Intelligence & Governance Solution for Credit Risk and Compliance
New DIG solution combines powerful data management technology with targeted financial and governance services.

FTSE-100 up 3 points at 4,229.16 (AP)
AP – Share prices on the London Stock Exchange were up at midday Friday.

Asian markets mixed on outlook for China, US (AP)

AP – Asian stock markets were mixed Monday as investors digested signs that the U.S. holiday shopping season got off to a tepid start over the key Thanksgiving weekend.

Slow London auctions suggest Russian art frenzy is over (AFP)

AFP – A disappointing week of Russian art sales here appears to have marked the end of a frenzied buying spree by collectors from the former Soviet Union, whose fortunes have diminished with the stock markets.

Two thriving companies to buy now
This may come as a shock, but I have good news for investors this holiday season: Despite the subprime sell-off, despite the mortgage meltdown, despite the housing slide and the chilling conditions increasing check-ins at the proverbial poorhouse, there are companies that are thriving in this market, even in the final weeks of one of the toughest years in history.

Canadian Equipment Rental Fund Limited Partnership Announces Third Quarter 2008 Results

Temasek in talks to sell Singapore Food Industries stake
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore Food Industries said on Monday its majority shareholder, Temasek Holdings is in talks to sell its stake in the firm.

How to play offense and defense in December
Season’s greetings!

Cablemas 3Q08 Net Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA Up 16.8% and 12.5% YoY

Marsh on Monday: UK woes, German caution expose Europe’s age-old leadership gap
When Henry Kissinger wanted to speak to the person in charge of Europe, he never knew the telephone number to dial. Three decades later, Barack Obama and his team face the same challenge.

Prospects of $45 bln loan for Roche receding
LONDON (Reuters) – The prospects of Swiss drugmaker Roche raising a $45 billion syndicated loan to finance the buyout of the rest of U.S. biotech group Genentech are becoming increasingly remote.

FTSE-100 up 3 points at 4,229.16 (AP)
AP – Share prices on the London Stock Exchange were up at midday Friday.

Japan stocks rise on hopes for economic steps (AP)
AP – Japanese stocks rose Friday amid growing investor optimism that economy-boosting steps by governments around the world would help ward off a deep global recession.

Saudi index soars after king’s comments on economy (AP)
AP – The Saudi stock market has soared 9.51 percent after the king described the economy as stable in the face of the global market meltdown.

China shares retreat on profit-taking (AP)
AP – China’s stocks retreated Friday on profit-taking but ended November with the biggest one-month gain in 15 months on optimism about a multibillion-dollar economic stimulus package.

Wall St. looks to extend rally; consumers in focus (AP)

AP – Wall Street will look to build on the strongest weekly performance for stocks since 1932 on Monday, with investors focused on how recession-minded shoppers fared at the malls and a raft of government data that could give a clearer picture of the economy.

Unloved Stocks Ready to Shine
Smart investors who achieve outsized profits: See what CAPS players recommend now.

London stock market up at open (AFP)

AFP – The London stock market rose 0.15 percent to 4,232.50 points when trading began on Friday.

Stocks end short session with 5th straight gain (AP)
AP – Wall Street climbed again Friday, wrapping up its biggest five-day rally in more than 75 years, even as investors digested signs of a bleak holiday season for retailers and fears that a flurry of reports next week will show more economic distress.

Craig Stephen’s This Week in China: Chinese flaws exposed as business chiefs go missing
As China’s quasi-market economy faces potentially the worst decline in two decades, the capacity of business to cope with a cyclical downturn is being brought sharply into focus. One example: the trend of executive disappearances.

Exploring the courts of Murdoch
Michael Wolff’s biography offers ‘a portrait of a new and evolving Rupert Murdoch’ that is as much a royal biography as a business study

Black Friday e-commerce spending reported edging up 1%
Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, sees a 1% gain in online shopping from last year, even as broader seasonal sales are trending down, according to ComScore.

India minister resigns in wake of attacks
India’s home minister, who is responsible for the nation’s security, has stepped down as a result of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, according to media reports Sunday, as the country begins to take stock of — and lay blame for — the strikes that killed at least 183 people and disrupted the country’s financial capital last week.

NewsWatch: Worst job losses in almost three decades expected
The upcoming November employment report is expected to show a loss of another 350,000 jobs, according to analysts surveyed by MarketWatch. A decrease of 350,000 would be the largest drop since May 1980, when more than 400,000 jobs were shed.

Citi crisis deepens as shares fall further
Citigroup’s board was locked in talks in an attempt to halt a crisis of confidence in the troubled financial services group that has seen it lose more than half its market value in three days

Redstone fields interest in cinema chain sale
Media mogul Sumner Redstone is edging towards a sale of all or most of a chain of 1,500 cinemas after receiving “active interest” from potential buyers

Wall St bulls pin hopes on year end
Equity market bears are feasting on turkey this Thanksgiving, leaving the bulls hoping there is room at the table before Christmas

Credit Suisse, Goldman and Major Broker-Dealers Are Building a Margin Messaging System
Fifteen of the 16 major broker-dealers have been quietly working to build an automated framework for collateral management. The group plans to roll out a messaging system for margin calls early next year.

Citi crisis deepens as shares fall further
Citigroup’s board was locked in talks in an attempt to halt a crisis of confidence in the troubled financial services group that has seen it lose more than half its market value in three days

Wall Street ends week with more gains
US stocks opened the abbreviated trading session slightly lower, snapping a four day winning streak for the S&P 500, as investors predicted a muted start to the holiday shopping season

Pictet & Cie Implements Advent Portfolio Exchange for Integrated Portfolio and Client Relationship Management
Leading private bank turns to Advent’s platform to provide enhanced compliance, operational efficiency and superior client service.

Banks Prefer Mandatory CDS Clearing Over Exchange-Based Model
Some of the world’s top banks are backing a proposal to develop a mandatory central clearing system, rather than exchange-based CDS trading, for the $55 trillion credit default swap (CDS) market, a report in the Financial Times said on Thursday.

Lessons from Rogue Trading and the Credit Crunch: How to Uncover the Next Unknown Risk
Firms need to plan effectively to reduce information technology and other enterprisewide risks that are within their control.

AIG to pay retention bonuses to executives
One day after announcing limits on salaries and bonuses for its top executives, AIG revealed some of those executives will receive millions in “retention bonuses” next year

March Networks Reports Record Revenue and Return to Positive Operating Earnings* in Second Quarter of Fiscal 2009

NewsWatch: OPEC stands pat on output, says members adhere to cuts
The oil cartel has ended a meeting in Cairo without any decision on a production cut, according to media reports Saturday.

Israel Stocks: Tel Aviv shares higher on Teva, ICL, Elbit gains
Israel stocks rise, led by strength in Teva and Israel Chemicals and by an advance in the tech and real-estate sectors.

NewsWatch: OPEC stands pat on output, says members adhere to cuts
The oil cartel has ended a meeting in Cairo without any decision on a production cut, according to media reports Saturday.

NewsWatch: U.S. stocks rise on Black Friday to post strong weekly gains
U.S. stocks end higher, leaving the market with monthly losses but with large gains for a holiday-shortened week that saw investors increasingly confident that much of a dire economic outlook already has been priced in.

General Motors eyes debt swap: report
NEW YORK (Reuters) – General Motors Corp is pushing some bondholders to swap their debt for equity, as Chief Executive Rick Wagoner tries to keep the automaker out of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy that would likely cost him his job, The Wall Street Journal said late Friday, citing people familiar with the plan.

Xinhua Finance Limited (TSE: 9399) Reports Its Results for the First Nine Months of 2008

AllianceBernstein Global High Income Fund, Inc. Reports Second Quarter Earnings

Rubin says not to blame for Citi’s troubles: report
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former U.S. Treasury secretary Robert Rubin said the near-collapse of Citigroup Inc , where he is a senior counselor, was due to the buckling financial system and not his own mistakes, according to an interview published on The Wall Street Journal’s website on Friday.

BHP head to focus on downturn after Rio failure
LONDON (Reuters) – BHP Billiton Chief Executive Marius Kloppers will likely use the same pragmatic resolve to grapple with a collapse in metals markets that he did in ditching a mega takeover of mining rival Rio Tinto .

Trump Entertainment to miss interest payment
Trump Entertainment says that to maintain sufficient liquidity, it won’t make a $53.1 million payment scheduled for Monday on a senior secured note.

China shares retreat on profit-taking (AP)
AP – China’s stocks retreated Friday on profit-taking but ended November with the biggest one-month gain in 15 months on optimism about a multibillion-dollar economic stimulus package.

5-Star Stocks on the Upswing
Check out these newly minted five-star stocks.

General Motors eyes debt swap: report
NEW YORK (Reuters) – General Motors Corp is pushing some bondholders to swap their debt for equity, as Chief Executive Rick Wagoner tries to keep the automaker out of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy that would likely cost him his job, The Wall Street Journal said late Friday, citing people familiar with the plan.

Oil rises on short-covering; down 20 pct in November (Reuters)

Reuters – Oil rose in late Friday trade on short-covering ahead of OPEC’s meeting this weekend after slowing demand sent prices down nearly 20 percent in November.

The Fool’s Look Ahead
Software, stores, and shot glasses will decorate the week that lies ahead.

Icahn ups Yahoo stake to 5.4 percent (AFP)

AFP – Corporate raider Carl Icahn increased his stake in Yahoo following the decision of co-founder Jerry Yang to step down as head of the Internet firm, documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed.

3 Stocks Hitting High Notes
These stocks are bucking the trend.

HK stock index rises for 4th straight day (AP)
AP – Hong Kong’s key stock index advanced for a fourth straight session Friday as investors bet Wall Street will extend gains when trade resumes following the Thanksgiving holiday.

FTSE-100 up 3 points at 4,229.16 (AP)
AP – Share prices on the London Stock Exchange were up at midday Friday.

Microsoft-Yahoo deal “total fiction:” report
LONDON (Reuters) – A report in the Sunday Times that Microsoft Inc is in talks with Yahoo Inc to buy the U.S. internet company’s online search business for $20 billion is “total fiction” according to a key executive cited by an influential U.S. blog.

The Best Stocks for a Balanced Portfolio
Ignoring the potential of small companies can hurt your returns.

Not Listening to Buffett Cost Me Thousands
Don’t make the same mistake.

Target rejects Ackman Reit plan
The US discount retailer said a proposal on its real estate structure from Bill Ackman, the activist shareholder, is “highly speculative” and not worth pursuing

Fresh Ideas for New Investors
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4-Star Stocks on the Upswing
The Motley Fool – It can pay to catch rising stars.

The Fool’s Look Ahead
Software, stores, and shot glasses will decorate the week that lies ahead.

US agrees bail-out for Citigroup
The US government is investing $20bn in struggling Citigroup and taking on most of the potential losses from $306bn in risky assets as part of a series of actions to help the beleaguered bank

Saudi index soars after king’s comments on economy (AP)
AP – The Saudi stock market has soared 9.51 percent after the king described the economy as stable in the face of the global market meltdown.

Stocks to Avoid Now?
Sometimes insiders are selling for all the right reasons.

Nikkei rises on reassurance from China move (Reuters)

Reuters – Japan’s Nikkei average climbed 1.7 percent on Friday for its best week in a month on reassurance that an aggressive Chinese interest rate cut may counter a slowing economy there, boosting shippers and trading houses.

FTSE 100 advance (AFP)

AFP – London shares zigzagged ending in the black on Friday with commodities taking hits and airlines rising.