Business news for Mon, 31 Dec 2007 & with words able+deal. 2 news.

Worldwide Pants, the production company of "Late Show with David Letterman" and "Craig Ferguson," has made an agreement with the Writers Guild of America. The deal would give Letterman a leg up on the competition, according to analysts; he'd be able to draw on prepared written comedy material.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Europe stocks weakened out of the gate on Monday, a half-day of trade ahead of the New Year's holiday. Air France-KLM shares rose 1% in early trading Monday, following Friday's news that it's the preferred bidder to buy Alitalia . Cairn Energy , the Scottish oil explorer that surged last week on the back of deal speculation, strong oil prices and its re-entry into the FTSE 100, slipped 1.6%. London Scottish Bank tumbled over 16% after taking a provision and warning it won't be able to pay its final dividend. The FTSE 100 slipped 0.2% to 6,462.70 in London and the CAC 40 dipped 0.2% to 5,616.79 in Paris. German and Swiss markets were shut.