European, Brazilian Stocks Rise as French Bonds, Euro Retreat

Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks rallied, following the Stoxx Europe 600 Index’s first annual loss since 2008, after manufacturing in Germany and China beat forecasts. French bonds fell before debt sales this week and the euro weakened.

The Stoxx 600 closed up 1.1 percent as Germany’s DAX Index surged 3 percent, the biggest gains since Dec. 20 for each. Brazil’s Bovespa index increased 1.4 percent as of 2:06 p.m. New York time. U.S., U.K. and other markets were closed today for the New Year’s holiday. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index slipped 0.1 percent. French 10-year bonds fell for a fourth day, pushing yields nine basis points higher to 3.23 percent. The euro weakened against 13 of 16 major peers. Gold rose.

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EU leader:Economis turmoil not over

BERLIN, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Europe faces more turmoil this year than last, with further painful belt-tightening that will test Europeans' resolve, European leaders warned their nations.
The continent faces its "harshest test in decades," and this year "will no doubt be more difficult than 2011," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.
"The path to overcoming this won't be without setbacks, but at the end of this path Europe will emerge stronger from the crisis than before," she told a national television audience Saturday.
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After 10 years EURo failed to make its mark

WHEN the euro was introduced just after midnight on January 1, 2002, celebratory fireworks exploded above the European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt. The Pont Neuf in Paris was lit up in European Union blue, with 12 rays of light to symbolise the 12 nations circulating the euro.
Ten years later, the word ''euro'' in a headline is usually paired with the word ''crisis''. Policymakers appear to be staying as quiet as possible, as if hoping not to upset the brief calm that has come with the holiday season after European central bankers injected nearly $US640 billion ($A627 billion) into the system last month.
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Unboxed Extra: I.B.M. and America’s Job Challenge

I.B.M.’s success in recent years is clear from the numbers — an upward ascent in profits, profit margins, stock-market value and even research and development spending.
But there is one number I.B.M. stopped disclosing a few years ago: the company’s employment in the United States.
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Economy, hospitals top the list of top buisiness stories for 2011

In Vacaville and elsewhere in Solano County, the top business story of 2011 was the ongoing housing crisis, namely a staggering number of home foreclosures that continue unabated, coupled with stubbornly high jobless rates as local, state and the United States economies begin a fragile recovery in the lingering wake of the Great Recession.

But there were many other significant stories, too, and here is a top 10 list as compiled by Reporter editors and writers:
 

No. 1 Continuing economic struggles. Solano County's economy is crawling northward, but isn't expected to reach prerecession levels for several more years, according to a projection by the University of the Pacific's Business Forecasting Center.
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China: Manufacturing expands slightly

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- China's official reading of manufacturing sentiment showed mild expansion in December, an improvement from the slight contraction the month before, a government agency said Sunday.
But government officials were cautious, saying the economy continues to face challenges from key trading partners Europe and the United States.
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BRICS should have bigger say in world economic order

BEIJING, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- The world economy, short of a robust recovery, is likely to continue to face a sea of challenges and hobble forward in the new year.
As one dose of antidote to the current global economic malaise, BRICS, a bloc of five major emerging economies, should have a bigger say and play a more important role in the world economic mechanism.
A bigger say for BRICS, which groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, in the world economic system, particularly in the heavyweight financial blocs such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is a proper reflection and confirmation of BRICS' rising economic clout and contribution to world economic growth.
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