Zoo wants company to stop using chimps in TV ads

A Chicago zoo is mounting a campaign to stop a company from airing a Super Bowl Sunday commercial featuring mischievous suit-and-tie wearing chimpanzees playing tricks on their human co-worker, saying all that monkey business proves deadly for the endangered species.
Lincoln Park Zoo officials fear images of the frolicking chimps broadcast worldwide do little to help […]

Growth quickens, but speed bumps ahead

The economy grew at its fastest pace in 1-1/2 years in the fourth quarter, but a rebuilding of stocks by businesses and slower business spending warned of weaker growth in early 2012.
Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.8 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Friday, a sharp acceleration from the 1.8 percent […]

Bernanke Moves Fed Toward More Openness - Bloomberg

Ben S. Bernanke achieved one of his primary goals as Federal Reserve chairman yesterday by setting a numeric goal for inflation, advancing his legacy of greater transparency at the world

Investment pros are diving back in

Even as anxiety-ridden individuals play it safe in low-yielding bank accounts, professional investors are showing renewed confidence in the stock market.
Bullishness among institutional investors has reached its highest level since last summer, and their buying has been powering the stock market’s surprising early-year advance, according to a new analysis by TrimTabs Investment Research. The Dow […]

China Mulls Relaxing Capital Rules for Banks - Bloomberg

China

Ralcorp, Post announce new board lineups

Ralcorp Holdings and Post Holdings, the branded cereal business that’s being spun off as a separate company, announced the lineup of each company’s board of directors.
The board appointments are effective when the spin-off of Post is finalized, which is expected to occur at the end of this month.
The new configuration of St. Louis-based Ralcorp’s board […]

Raymond James wins bidding war to buy Morgan Keegan

After more than six months on the auction block, Florida-based Raymond James Financial emerged as the winning bidder to acquire Morgan Keegan & Co., a Memphis-based brokerage that’s a powerhouse in municipal bond underwriting.
Raymond James was competing with St. Louis-based Stifel Financial in the final days leading up to Wednesday’s sale announcement, but Stifel’s bid […]

Jobless claims fall 15,000 last week

Private-sector hiring surged in December as employers added 325,000 new workers while claims for jobless benefits fell, raising hope that recent labor market improvement would continue in 2012.
The ADP National Employment Report’s December job tally surprised economists who had expected a 178,000 gain. It was also well above the 204,000 private jobs added in […]

Growth even weaker than feared

The U.S. economy was weaker than previously thought in the third quarter, according to a government report, although economists are expecting stronger growth in the final three months of the year.
Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation’s economic health, grew at a 1.8% annual rate in the quarter. That’s down from the […]

Home builder sentiment rises for third month: NAHB

+%3Cp%3E+Homebuilder+sentiment+perked+up+in+December+for+the+third+month+in+a+row%2C+to+its+highest+level+in+a+year+and+a+half%2C+the+National+Association+of+Home+Builders+said+on+Monday.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+NAHB%2FWells+Fargo+Housing+Market+index+rose+to+21+from+a+downwardly+revised+19+in+November%2C+the+group+said.+Economists+polled+by+Reuters+had+predicted+a+reading+of+20.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+index+was+at+its+highest+level+since+May+2010.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3E%22While+builder+confidence+remains+low%2C+the+consistent+gains+registered+over+the+past+several+months+are+an+indication+that+pockets+of+recovery+are+slowly+starting+to+emerge+in+scattered+housing+markets%2C%22+NAHB+Chairman+Bob+Nielsen+said+in+a+statement.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EAfter+stagnating+in+a+tight+range+for+about+a+year%2C+the+index+has+been+improving+since+October%2C+giving+weight+to+analysts%27+views+that+the+housing+market+is+finally+finding+a+bottom.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EEven+with+December%27s+gain%2C+home+builder+sentiment+is+still+historically+low+and+well+below+the+50+mark%2C+indicating+more+builders+view+market+conditions+as+poor+than+favorable.+The+index+has+not+been+above+50+since+April+2006.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3E%22We%27re+not+looking+for+numbers+next+year+to+come+anywhere+close+to+the+kind+of+numbers+that+we+saw+pre-recession%2C+but+we+do+think+the+housing+market+is+setting+up+for+a+plus+year+in+2012+in+terms+of+new+home+construction%2C+as+well+as+sales%2C%22+said+Steve+Blitz%2C+senior+economist+at+ITG+Investment+Research+in+New+York.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+current+sales+component+rose+to+22+from+20%2C+while+the+gauge+of+sales+expectations+for+the+next+six+months+rose+to+26+from+25.%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThere+was+little+impact+in+financial+markets+from+the+data+as+investors+focused+on+developments+in+the+euro+zone+and+uncertainty+following+the+death+of+North+Korean+leader+Kim+Jong-il.%3C%2Fp%3E++%3Cp%3E%3Ca+href%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Fassets%2Fprint%3Faid%3DUSTRE7BI0ZA20111219%27+rel%3D%27nofollow%27%3ERead+more%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E+