Business news for Mon, 31 Dec 2007 & with word federal. 5 news.

The widow of a naturalized American citizen won a $466 million federal court judgment Friday...

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.

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Arizona puts into effect on Jan. 1 a law that punishes businesses that knowingly employ illegal workers, the toughest such law in the U.S., the Arizona Republic reported. Only about 6% of the state's 150,000 employers have so far signed up for E-Verify, an Internet database the U.S. federal government operates to enable employers to determine whether a person is eligible to work, the paper reported. Arizona's new law requires employers to use E-Verify; the database is voluntary at the federal level, the paper reported. While the new law has survived two legal challenges, many employers are waiting to see whether the law is ultimately upheld, the paper reported. Arizona has more than 500,000 undocumented immigrants, and many employers are reluctant to use the database, the Republic reported, because screening out the workers cuts off a major supply of low-cost labor.

1. The housing market suffered its worst slump since the Depression and foreclosures soared as the collapse of the subprime mortgage market rattled banks around the world. Financial service companies were expected to report one of their worst years ever, and the Federal Reserve is proposing tighter lending rules to protect consumers and rein in irresponsible lenders.

Agency will start taking requests for discounts on converter boxes Tuesday. In 2009, analog will be history. The federal government doesn't usually give things away, but starting Tuesday broadcast TV watchers can apply for a gift that could keep their sets from going dark in 2009.