Time short for S&P to end 2011 higher (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? With two weeks left in the trading year, the euro zone debt crisis will remain the primary impediment to pushing the S&P 500 index into positive territory for 2011.

Uncertainty over progress in the region, along with the potential for credit rating downgrades on euro zone countries, have kept investors on edge and market volatility high.

Even with a fairly busy U.S. economic calendar, which includes a batch of data on the housing market, the final reading on gross domestic product and durable goods orders, markets will focus on developments from Europe.

"What everybody is going to look at is the same thing they've been looking at -- every time a German official opens their mouth we get crushed," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.

"I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Santa Claus is out there. But we've got to see something."

The benchmark S&P 500 index (.SPX)(.INX) is down about 3 percent for the year and would need to climb above 1,257.64 in order to end higher for the year.

A rally by stocks on Friday fizzled, and the market ended with only modest gains after the latest credit warning about possible downgrades of European nations. For the week, the Dow fell 2.7 percent, the S&P lost 2.9 percent and the Nasdaq was down 3.5 percent.

Italy's prime minister urged European policymakers on Friday to beware of dividing the continent in the effort to contain the debt crisis, warning against a "short-term hunger for rigor" in some countries, in a swipe at Germany.

Stocks have been whipsawed as investors weigh the threat from the euro zone crisis against modest improvement in U.S. economic data and stocks that many regard as cheap.

"There do appear to be some improving economic indicators domestically, but it's hard to see how they win the day if Europe continues to be a big concern. It's not like the valuations are at such bargain-basement prices that it becomes a one-way bet," said Stephen Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco.

As volumes begin to dry up and market moves become more exaggerated during the holiday period, the volatility may help lift the stock market into the plus column.

CHANCE OF RALLY

"Can you see an upside rally? Certainly, because you are going to have some asset managers in the end who are going to try and just push it so the market ends at the very least flat on the year, if not higher," said Ken Polcari, managing director at ICAP Equities in New York.

"If there is going to be a rally at all, it will happen on light volume because there will be fewer and fewer participants. When there is less volume, you do have the ability to have those exaggerated moves, but people will take advantage of that."

Volatility in individual shares could also be affected by corporate earnings preannouncements. There have been 97 negative earnings preannouncements issued by S&P 500 corporations for the fourth quarter, compared to 26 positive preannouncements, resulting in a negative-to-positive ratio of 3.7. That's the highest in 10 years, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Companies that have provided outlooks in recent weeks include DuPont (DD.N), Intel Corp (INTC.O), United Technologies Corp (UTX.N) and Texas Instruments Inc (TXN.N).

Unexpected management shakeups could also be on the horizon and increase the tumult in stocks. Both Cablevision Systems Corp (CVC.N) and the New York Times Co (NYT.N) saw high-level executives suddenly leave their posts.

But stock movements next week will ultimately be dictated by actions taken in Europe, with the light volume exacerbating market swings.

"The only thing that is going to be of any interest is certainly the continuing headlines on Europe, whether or not they come any closer to what looks like a potential agreement," said Polcari.

"You may get a little bit of a push to the 1,250 to 1,270 range, but much beyond that I don't see why it would go any higher unless you get some explosive announcement out of Europe."

(Reporting By Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111217/bs_nm/us_usa_stocks_weekahead

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Christopher Hitchens: Friends, Fans Mourn The Late Journalist And Atheist

Note from the Editor: Journalist and polemicist Christopher Hitchens died on Dec. 15 of pneumonia, a complication of esophageal cancer. He was 62. The following are quotes of remembrance from his friends and fans.

"Christopher was the beau ideal of the public intellectual. You felt as though he was writing to you and to you alone. And as a result many readers felt they knew him. Walking with him down the street in New York or through an airplane terminal was like escorting a movie star through the throngs." --Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter

"Over the course of his heroic, uncomplaining 18-month battle with the cancer, I found myself rehearsing what I might say to an obituary writer, should one ring after the news of Christopher's death. I thought to say something along the lines -- the air of Byron, the steel pen of Orwell, and the wit of Wilde." --Satirist Christopher Buckley

"Editing Christopher Hitchens, who died Thursday at the age of 62, was the easiest job in journalism. He never filed late -- in fact, he was usually early, even when he was clearly very sick -- and he managed to make his work seem like a great lark. His weekly e-mails always read the same jaunty way: 'Herewith. Hope it serves, As always, Christopher.'" --Slate editor June Thomas

"Like all of us, he was often wrong, but never in the way everyone else was wrong. His originality was a constant, his independence an unstoppable engine. He loved to argue and debate, not because he was a bully but because he thought it pointed in the direction of truth. And possibly because he was better at it than anyone else." --Journalist Jacob Weisberg

"Few have written so movingly, so bravely and with such self-awareness about coming to terms with impending death. The announcement of a 'Pray for Christopher Hitchens Day' must have caused him more than a wry smile. 'Don't bother unless it makes you feel better,' he said. There could be few less likely deathbed conversions." --Patrick Gallagher, Hitchens' Australian publisher

"We shall miss you, your voice, your pen, & most of all your mind Christopher. The world is better because of you." --Michael Shermer, founding publisher of Skeptic magazine

"Goodbye, my beloved friend. A great voice falls silent. A great heart stops. " --Author Salman Rushdie

"Christopher Hitchens, finest orator of our time, fellow horseman, valiant fighter against all tyrants including God." --Author Richard Dawkins

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/16/christopher-hitchens-literary-world-mourns_n_1153053.html

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Washington State Targets Changes to Renewable Energy (ContributorNetwork)

With a 2012 Washington state renewable energy deadline looming, the Gov. Chris Gregoire is looking at changes to an initiative that will expand the definition of what clean energy is, reported the Associated Press on December 14. Here are some of the details of the initiative and the problems that may cause changes to it.

* Initiative 937 will incrementally ramp up the amount of power that the state's large utilities are required to get through renewable sources including wind, solar, geothermal and certain woody biomass by 2020. For 17 of the state's utility providers, 3 percent of that power must come from renewable energy beginning in January. All of those utilities appear to be able to meet January's requirement.

* About two-thirds of the state's energy already comes from clean hydropower, the Associated Press reported. However, existing hydropower isn't eligible for meeting the renewable requirements under I-937 because the initiative was aimed at spurring new energy activity.

* Some utility providers in Washington state are now seeing an oversupply in renewable energy. According to a recent article in The Columbian, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) officials said that energy oversupply will continue to be caused in springtime in Clark County by the expanding wind energy farms in the Columbia River Gorge reaching their peak production at the same time that abundant snowpack reaches the hydroelectric generating facilities.

* When there is an energy oversupply, BPA is forced to order some of the wind turbines to be shut down, angering owners of the turbines who are hoping to see good returns on their green energy investment. BPA reported that it would be considering solutions that would prevent the wind generators from being fairly impacted by oversupply shutdowns.

* Gov. Chris Gregoire would like to recognize some incremental hydropower and biomass improvements in the fulfillment of the energy standard so as to lure business wanting to provide such energy to the state. She also would like to consider delaying requirements for smaller utilities, the Associated Press reported.

* According to information in the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE), Washington became the second state in the nation, after Colorado, to pass a renewable energy standard by ballot initiative. As the law stands, although there are some exemptions, a utility's failure to meet the energy conservation or renewable energy targets will result in an administrative penalty of $50/MWh, paid to the state of Washington.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111215/us_ac/10688841_washington_state_targets_changes_to_renewable_energy

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SEC sues former top Fannie, Freddie executives (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Six former top executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were sued by U.S. regulators on charges of misleading investors about the mortgage finance companies' exposure to risky home loans in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission brought civil fraud charges on Friday against former Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd, former Freddie Mac CEO Richard Syron and four other one-time high-level executives.

Mudd, now chief executive of Fortress Investment Group, and Syron left the mortgage finance companies after they were taken over by the government in 2008 as mortgage losses spiraled. The two firms have been propped up by $169 billion in federal aid since they were seized.

The SEC is seeking to bar the defendants from serving as officers or directors of public companies, among other penalties.

Fortress, one of the few publicly traded hedge fund and private equity companies, said it would review "the matters addressed in the complaint" but noted that the lawsuit concerned Mudd's previous job at Fannie Mae.

An attorney for Syron said the SEC case was "without merit" and relied on a mistaken approach in examining the mortgage giant's disclosures, and said the firm had appropriately disclosed the amount of risk underlying its loans.

"Simply stated, there was no shortage of meaningful disclosures, all of which permitted the reader to asses the degree of risk in Freddie Mac's guaranteed portfolio. The SEC's theory and approach are fatally flawed," attorney Thomas Green said.

The other defendants include former Fannie Mae Chief Risk Officer Enrico Dallavecchia, who later became chief risk officer at PNC Financial Services. PNC spokesman Frederick Solomon said Dallavecchia stepped down from his PNC post on Friday and was on administrative leave.

Since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac nearly went bust, the congressionally chartered firms have repeatedly come under fire in the race for the U.S. Republican presidential nomination. The candidates say the mortgage firms are partly to blame for the foreclosure and housing crisis.

Republican front-runner Newt Gingrich has been harshly criticized by some of his opponents for accepting up to $1.6 million as a consultant to Freddie Mac from 1999 until 2008. Gingrich says he was not a lobbyist but was paid for "strategic advice."

The SEC said on Friday that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will cooperate with the agency in its lawsuits and have agreed to admit responsibility for the alleged misconduct, without acknowledging or denying liability.

The firms have also entered into non-prosecution agreements with the agency, the SEC said.

MORTGAGE RISKS

In court papers filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the SEC said Mudd, Syron and others approved false statements to investors. The six defendants made it appear that their companies had far less exposure to risky mortgages in their loan portfolios than in fact existed, the SEC contends.

Attorneys for Mudd and Dallavecchia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In one episode in 2006, the SEC said, Syron said on an earnings conference call that "we, as you know, weren't really involved in underwriting much of that business, any of that business, directly," referring to the subprime loan market.

That statement, the SEC said, was "materially false and misleading," because at around that time Freddie Mac's single-family credit guarantee portfolio contained $141 billion worth of subprime loans, 10 percent of its total.

The SEC also charged Thomas Lund, a former executive vice president at Fannie Mae. His lawyer, Michael Levy, said his client "did not mislead anyone."

Former Freddie Mac executives Patricia Cook and Donald Bisenius were also charged. Their lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The cases come as U.S. lawmakers are turning their attention to tackling the future of the nation's housing finance system. Republicans and Democrats largely agree that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac eventually need to be shut down. Both companies were chartered by Congress to foster a liquid mortgage market.

MATERIALLY FALSE AND MISLEADING

The SEC is asking the court to order the six defendants to pay back alleged illegal profits. The documents did not specify what amount the SEC would be seeking.

"The companies adopted very broad definitions of subprime, leaving reasonable investors to conclude that what was disclosed in their filings was the entirety of their subprime exposure," Robert Khuzami, director of the SEC's enforcement division, said at a news conference.

"Investors were robbed of the opportunity to make informed investor choices," he said.

In the Fannie Mae complaint, the SEC said the executives made misleading statements between December 2006 and August 2008. In the Freddie Mac case, the regulator said the alleged wrongdoing took place between March 2007 and August 2008.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy loans from lenders and repackage them as guaranteed securities for sale to investors.

Freddie Mac, in a statement, said it had reached an agreement with the SEC but did not comment on the charges against its former executives. A Fannie Mae representative did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.

The cases are SEC v. Daniel Mudd et al., No. 11-9202 and SEC v. Syron et. al No. 11-9201, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

(Additional reporting by Margaret Chadbourn in Washington and Svea Herbst-Bayliss in Boston; editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Gunna Dickson and John Wallace)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111216/bs_nm/us_fannie_freddie_sec

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Austin mulls far-reaching bag ban (Offthekuff)

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Lindsay Lohan misses flight and 'Ellen' taping

Alec Baldwin isn't the only one having travel issues these days.

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Lindsay Lohan, who was scheduled to return from her hit -and- miss Hawaiian vacation Tuesday, missed her flight back to Los Angeles that would have had her back in town in time for a scheduled taping of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."

But more importantly, Lohan's due in court bright and early Wednesday. She doesn't need a passport to get back to the mainland, so what can the problem be ? and will it keep her from her date with Judge Stephanie Sautner?!

MORE: Lindsay Lohan's Nude Playboy Pictorial Available Online (Officially) Post Leak

"Lindsay had a travel-related issue arise that took a few hours to sort out," rep Steve Honig tells E! News. "It has been resolved and she will be back in Los Angeles in time for her court appearance."

Phew!

A source also tells us that Lohan is already in the air and will be touching down at LAX in a few hours.

The community-servicing actress is due in court Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. for another checkup as to how she's been handling the terms of her probation.

Sautner ordered her to complete at least 12 days of work at the L.A. County morgue by her hearing date ? and Lohan's done that, so we're not expecting too much tap-dancing on the part of Playboy's latest cover girl.

GALLERY: Celebs on Vacay

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Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45659985/ns/today-entertainment/

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Congress leaders hope deal near on gov't shutdown (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Senate and House leaders are expressing optimism that a bipartisan deal may be near that can avert a government shutdown.

House Speaker John Boehner told reporters Thursday there is no need to close the government.

Earlier, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he and the chamber's top Republican, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have held talks to resolve remaining disputes over extending the Social Security payroll tax, renewing jobless benefits and heading off a shutdown.

Boehner applauded Reid's remarks and said "everybody needs to step back and take a deep breath" ? and strike a deal.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_rdp

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