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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. Federal Reserve added $17.5 billion in temporary reserves to the banking system Monday through overnight repurchase agreements, or repos, through the New York Fed's Open Market Desk. "The large operations this morning are intended to offset the drain to reserves arising from an elevated balance in the Treasury's account at the Fed," the New York Fed said in a statement on its Web site. The Fed injected $13.5 billion through a 4-day repo, and $4 billion through a 2-day repo. "Clearly the Desk is looking to provide a lot of liquidity into the system for the turn of the year," wrote analysts at Action Economics.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Sales of semiconductors rose 0.7% in November compared to October to $22.5 billion, or 2.3% more than last year, the Semiconductor Industry Association said Monday. "Early indications are that consumer products with high semiconductor content such as LCD TVs, PMP and MP3 players, along with digital cameras all sold well in the holiday buying season," said SIA President George Scalise. "While unit demand has been very robust, average selling prices have declined in a number of key product segments," it added.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The Financial Services Authority is probing a jump in the share price of U.K. waste services group Biffa ahead of an announcement in November that it had received a 1.2 billion pound ($2.4 billion) takeover bid, according to a report in the Times (of London) newspaper. The report said the FSA has written to various parties involved in the talks to ask what they knew about any possible bid before buyout groups HgCapital and Montagu Private Equity revealed their offer. The inquiry is a part of a continuing focus at the regulator on insider trading ahead of major announcements, the newspaper added.

Last week, the health system witnessed one of the biggest dramas in recent years, and the results were even more impressive than anyone could have imagined: life-saving and life-prolonging drugs will be removed from the HMOs' supplemental insurance policies, and in return almost NIS 1.5 billion will be added to the national health insurance drug basket over the next three years. ...

The National Debt increased by €1.6 billion during 2007, bringing the total to €37.6 billion.

MOBILE phone sales in China are forecast to reach 150 million units in 2007, up 23.1 percent year-on-year, CCID Consulting said yesterday. Sales volume, however, was expected to drop 0.3 percent to 166.1 billion yuan (US$22.66 billion) because more low-end mobile phones were sold during the period. The average price of a mobile in China dropped from 1,408 yuan in 2006 to 1,142 yuan this year. In addition, more than 20 percent of mobiles sold were less than 500 yuan, the CCID said. Li Xuefang, a CCID consultant, cited increased demand for tailored phones by mobile operators and rising low-end mobile users in rural areas as the main reasons for the price drop. Promotions by domestic manufacturers of mid- and low-end mobiles also brought down the general selling price, she added. In the third quarter of 2007, Chinese brand mobiles accounted for a 33.4 percent market share, up from 31.1 percent in the second quarter. CCID also predicted mobile sales, driven by rising low-end

MACAU'S casino industry will likely see record gross revenues of 83 billion patacas (US$10 billion) this year, an increase of 46.5 percent over 2006, The Macau Post Daily reported yesterday. The casinos' gross receipts were expected to reach 8.1 billion patacas in December, the daily quoted a senior official of Macau's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau as saying. He added that the Las-Vegas-style casino resort MGM Grand Macau, opened on December 18, recorded gross receipts of 51.5 million patacas in its first two days of operations. With the opening of MGM Grand Macau, the SAR now has 28 casinos, including the Macau Palace floating casino that is presently closed for renovation. Gaming taxes collected in the first 11 months of this year exceeded by 34.9 percent those for the whole of 2006. Direct gaming taxes accounted for 71.4 percent of the government's total revenue in this period. Macau, an hour by high-speed ferry from Hong Kong, beat the Las Vegas Strip last

THE Agricultural Bank of China will launch its long-expected restructuring plan soon, the central bank governor said yesterday. The restructuring plan will be decided soon to elevate the bank into a strong and internationally competitive bank, Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of the People's Bank of China, said yesterday at a financial forum in Beijing. Zhou said China's financial institutions should actively be engaged in the development of the agricultural sector, which is ABC's main focus. He added that the restructuring will start next year. Central Huijin Investment Co, which recently merged with China Investment Corp, will be involved in the restructuring of China Development Bank and ABC, said Lou Jiwei, chairman of the CIC, the country's sovereign wealth fund, at the forum. Deputy Finance Minister Li Yong was reported as saying earlier that one-third of the CIC's US$200 billion start-up capital, or US$66 billion, will be injected into China Development Bank and ABC for

CHINA imported 21.7 million tons of soybean in the first three quarters of this year, up 2.1 percent over the year-earlier level. Customs sources said the arrivals were valued at US$7.36 billion, up 32.5 percent. The import price averaged US$339.80 per ton, up 29.8 percent. Higher import costs were due largely to mounting demand, a drop in production and rising transport charges worldwide, the sources said. Of total imports, 99.1 percent came from Brazil, the United States and Argentina. Between January and September, China bought 8.43 million tons of soybean from Brazil, down 10.1 percent, and 4.85 million tons from Argentina, down 0.1 percent. Imports from the United States amounted to 8.22 million tons, up 23.4 percent. Of total arrivals, foreign-funded companies made up 13.66 million tons, up 11.3 percent. State-owned enterprises added 4.73 million tons, down 20.1 percent, and private businesses contributed 2.64 million tons, up two percent. To curb price rises for

UNITED States stocks rose for the third time in four weeks, led by energy companies, as higher consumer spending and the Federal Reserve's efforts to give cash to banks spurred speculation the economy will keep expanding. Exxon Mobil Corp and Hess Corp led energy companies to the biggest gain in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index after oil prices climbed for a second week. Earnings reports from Oracle Corp and Research In Motion Ltd drove technology stocks to the second-steepest advance among 10 industries. "You can just feel the tide turning here," said Jim Paulsen, who helps oversee about US$200 billion as chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management in Minneapolis. "Economic data keeps coming in better than expected and I think it's part of the recovery story." The S&P 500 added 16.51, or 1.1 percent to 1,484.46 last week, bringing its year-to-date advance to 4.7 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8 percent to 13,450.65. The Nasdaq

CHINA Construction Bank Corp said it plans to increase its overseas presence by opening branches in London and the Middle East. The nation's second-largest lender will apply to establish wholly-owned subsidiary banks in London and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, as well as a branch in Doha, Qatar, according to a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. All are subject to relevant regulatory approval, the Beijing-based bank said. CCB said it also plans a budget of 31.5 billion yuan (US$4.27 billion) for capital expenditure next year. Of that, 16.5 billion yuan would be used as purchase and construction expenditure, mainly for the establishment of business units, self-service banking facilities, technological items and IT equipments. The other 15 billion yuan would be for investment. Shares in CCB rose 0.31 percent to 9.81 yuan in Shanghai and added 0.3 percent to HK$6.68 (86 US cents) in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, CCB, which started Shanghai trading on September 25, said a

NORDIC stock exchange operator OMX AB, subject of a takeover deal by Nasdaq Stock Market Inc and Borse Dubai, said yesterday it was buying parts of Norwegian power derivatives exchange Nord Pool ASA for about 2.3 billion kroner (US$412 million). Under the deal, OMX will buy Nord Pool's clearing and consulting operations as well as its international derivatives products. It will also establish a business unit for international energy derivatives. The deal "creates a foundation for a geographical expansion within Nord Pool's core area of power, and for enhancing the existing offering, with a clear ambition to build a leading European market for CO2 products," OMX said. OMX Chief Executive Magnus Bocker said the combination would be well-positioned "to benefit from the development of a global market for carbon dioxide emissions allowances in the wake of the Kyoto protocol." He added there were also many opportunities to expand the existing business to

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Puerto Rico-based banking group Popular Inc. said Friday that it expects to report a fourth-quarter pretax loss of $90 million to $165 million following the recharacterization of a number of prior mortgage loan securitizations as sales. The company said the move will reduce its $3.1 billion subprime mortgage portfolio by around $2.4 billion. The firm also said it would take an impairment charge of up to $175 million on the goodwill and trademark value of its E-Loan business. Popular added that after the impact of these transactions it would continue to exceed the risk-based capital guidelines under federal banking regulations.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Switzerland's UBS is facing a shareholder revolt over its plans for a cash injection from Singapore and the Middle East, according to a report in the Financial Times Friday. Ulrich Grete, head of the Swiss Social Security Compensation Fund, said the deal would disadvantage existing investors and also called on UBS to name the Middle Eastern investor who will own nearly 2% of the group, according to the report. Another investor has demanded a special audit to look at how the bank made such big losses, it added. The Financial Times also said that the Middle East investor is from Saudi Arabia and added Prince Sultan, the crown prince and defense minister, was believed to be a leading figure in negotiating the deal. UBS announced the capital injection of around $11.5 billion earlier in December after taking a further $10 billion of write-downs.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. insurer Friends Provident has froze its 1.2 billion pounds ($2.4 billion) flagship commercial property fund after a rush for the exit by investors over the past three weeks, The Times (of London) reported, citing a spokesman. Friends' move affects up to 118,000 individual investors in its 24-year-old property fund, which invests in offices and retail developments in areas as diverse as Glasgow, Leadenhall Street in the City of London and Camden Wharf in North London. New Star Asset Management separately marked its property fund down by 8.2% last week, the report added.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Airline shares added to the prior session's gains in early trading Thursday. The Amex Airline Index rose 0.7% with nine of 14 stocks in the benchmark index trading higher. American Airlines parent AMR Corp. led gainers with a 2% rise. Alaska Airways Group shares climbed 1.7% after the company told investors it expected fourth-quarter capacity at its main Alaska Airlines carrier to rise 4% to nearly 6 billion available seat miles while costs per available seat mile come in flat with the same period last year, or fall 1% to 2% excluding fuel. The major indexes rose modestly, while crude oil futures slipped.

A BROAD-BASED rally among blue chips pushed the Shanghai index higher for a second day today thanks to a strengthening yuan after the United States Treasury said China was not manipulating its currency. The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B shares, jumped 2.06 percent, or 101.76 points, to 5,043.54 at 3pm today. Gainers in the Shanghai market outnumbered losers 609 to 141 while 96 were unchanged. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which covers the smaller mainland stock market, gained 1.37 percent, or 18.3 points, to 1,357.39. Property developers and banks benefited the most from the appreciation of the Chinese currency as their assets are primarily denominated in yuan. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co, the Chinese partner of Citigroup Inc, added 4.31 percent, or 2.04 yuan (28 US cents), to 49.41 yuan. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, whose shares have gained 126 percent this year, plans to raise six billion yuan selling

Congress neared passage of a $555 billion year-end spending bill after the Senate added the last piece of Iraq war funding needed to win Bush's signature.

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Morgan Stanley said Wednesday it's writing down an additional $5.7 billion of mortgage-related assets, taking the total fourth-quarter loss to nearly $10 billion in the latest sign that the credit crunch is worsening.

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- GlaxoSmithKline plc said early Wednesday that it has completed its planned acquisition of cardiovascular drugmaker Reliant Pharmaceuticals for $1.65 billion in cash. Glaxo said the takeover gives it U.S. marketing rights to Reliant's lead product, the triglycerides-controlling agent Lovaza, and three other cardiovascular drugs. Biotechnology firm Alkermes Inc. , which held an equity stake in Reliant, said it has already received $166 million from the transaction. Alkermes added it will receive an additional $8 million in about 15 months under an escrow arrangement.