SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Technology stocks held onto a modest lead over the broader market during Wednesday's after-hours session, where thin trading was dominated by exchange-traded funds.

The PowerShares QQQ , which tracks 100 of the largest, nonfinancial companies trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, edged 0.1% higher in late trading.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF , which tracks the S&P 500, fell 0.2% on volume of 16 million shares.

Citigroup shares extended the day's losses, slipping 0.3% in late trading. Late in the regular session, Citigroup said it completed its $20 billion TARP repayment to the U.S. government.

Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb and Mead Johnson Nutrition shares traded flat on relatively high volume, with more than six million shares of each company trading hands in the after-hours session.

During the regular session, Mead Johnson said former parent Bristol-Myers had completed an exchange offer for the maker of infant formula, resulting in its split-off. In February, Mead Johnson made its initial public offering, selling 17% of its shares to the public.

No major earnings releases were scheduled for Wednesday's after-hours session.

DOW INDUSTRIALS (DJIA)

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In regular trading Wednesday, the Nasdaq Composite outpaced the other major benchmarks, helped by a 4 instant payday loan.6% gain in the shares of Ebay and a 4.3% advance in the shares of Yahoo .

Information technology was the second-biggest gainer on the S&P 500 , which returned to a gain in afternoon trading, pulled higher by the energy sector.

Healthcare stocks may post notable moves in Thursday's trading session.

Late Wednesday, Senate lawmakers voted voted 60-39 to cut off debate on the White House-backed, $871 billion healthcare bill. The vote paves the way for a 7 a.m. vote Thursday morning on the package, which seeks to extend insurance coverage to millions of Americans and put new rules on insurers.

The bill will need to be reconciled with the House-passed version, which includes a government insurance plan left out by the Senate.

Also after the closing bell, UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and Continental Airlines Inc. said they have applied for antitrust immunity with the Department of Transportation to create a trans-Pacific network with Japan's All Nippon Airways. The venture will allow the airlines joint management of scheduling, and pricing and sales for Pacific routes.

Shares in the U.S. carriers slipped on very low volume after the bell.

After Hours: Tech keeps lead in late-trading; Citi slips

NEW YORK – Looking for UGG boots? Or what about the last string of holiday lights or inflatable Santas to spruce up the lawn? You might be out of luck.

Some last-minute holiday shoppers are facing disappointment. Stores are running out of key holiday items — and not just Zhu Zhu pets, those robotic hamsters that have been hard to find since before Thanksgiving.

Even sparkly tops, skirts and scarves are running scarce at some stores. Bloomingdale's spokeswoman Anne Keating said that the upscale department store chain has sold out practically of "anything that sparkles" over the past week.

Of course, even ambitious shoppers who got a head-start faced some hurdles beyond the toy aisles. At Mall of America, the nation's biggest shopping center, an $85 wallet by popular designer Tory Burch in an array of colors — blue, gold and black — was sold out prior to Thanksgiving, before the mall had a chance to pull it from its holiday advertisments, according to Mall of America spokeswoman Bridget Jewell.

It's a switch from last year, when piles of holiday treasures were discounted up to 90 percent as a freefall in spending left merchants swimming in inventory.

But this year, stores cut inventories, willing to take a risk of running out of items rather than having to slash prices. The strategy is expected to boost fourth-quarter profits but may limit sales in the final days and even after Christmas.

Of course, shoppers who have a generic holiday list — a black sweater or a flat-panel TV in any brand — will find plenty to choose from. But slim pickings on key items are frustrating some shoppers, who appear to be delaying purchases more this year than last year.

"Stores need to have a good selection" for last-minute buyers, Laura Gurski, partner in the retail practice of A.T. Kearney, a global management consultant. She also wonders how stores will excite shoppers to come back after Christmas if leftovers are skimpy.

A look at what's hard to find:

CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES: At Bloomingdales, Burberry down coats, Hunter's original Gloss Wellington rain boots, along with the socks that are sold separately, are sold out or almost sold out, Keating said payday loan companies.

She noted that the chain is getting regular shipments of UGG boots but they are selling out. Also scarce are denim leggins by Daddy Long Legs, she said.

Nordstrom's spokeswoman Brooke White reports limited quantities of the Wellington boots in pea green, violet or graphite, while the store has sold out of Bosca's magnetic money clips in dark brown leather and The North Face's women's fleece in colors like pink, black and white.

The upscale store has also sold out of charm necklaces with such messages as "Truth" and "Peace."

HOME DECOR: Most holiday decorations are gone at home-improvement chains Home Depot and Lowe's. Both say energy-efficient LED holiday lights have been gone for days.

Most inflatable lawn ornaments have sold out. Another key item that shoppers can't find is Home Depot's lighted reindeer and sleigh lawn decor.

Lowe's said the most popular inflatables were the least expensive — a 4-foot Santa and a 4-foot snowman, retailing each for $19.97, have sold out.

TOYS: Those who haven't gotten their hands on Zhu Zhu pets yet may have to wait until after Christmas.

Toys R Us spokeswoman Kathleen Waugh said that the toy retailer sold 1 million of them in the past week and is receiving a couple of hundred thousand more before Christmas. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is getting about 20 to 60 per store per day through Wednesday, but the rodents sell out immediately.

Many of the hot toys are scarce, including Mattel Inc.'s Rocky the Robot and Mindflex which measures brain waves and uses them to push a ball through a course and Hasbro Inc.'s Chuck My Talking Truck.

Jim Silver, an analyst at Timetoplaymag.com, said there are more toy shortages this year than last year.

___

AP Retail Writer Mae Anderson contributed to this report.

Holiday stragglers find shortages of hot items

Hot News: State Street to Buy Securities Business of Italian Bank

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. financial stocks rose in morning trade, led by gains in select retail investment firms as analysts grew more sanguine about their outlook. T. Rowe Price and Charles Schwab led gainers following an upgrade of both at Deutsche Bank.

On the downside, Citigroup shares fell after news that Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund wants out of a commitment to invest more than $7 billion in the firm.

The Financial Select Sector SPDR , which tracks the financial stocks in the S&P 500, added 0.7%.

Shares of Citigroup faced a new challenge Wednesday. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the Middle East's largest sovereign wealth fund, is demanding that Citigroup Inc. scrap a deal that would see the fund make a heavy loss on a $7.5 billion investment in the bank.

The fund, controlled by the oil-rich rulers of the Persian Gulf city-state of Abu Dhabi, is seeking more than $4 billion in damages from Citi if the deal to invest in the bank is upheld for what it alleges were "fraudulent misrepresentations" of the original agreement, according to the lender.

The dispute with Abu Dhabi follows Kuwait's decision to sell its stake in Citi. The Kuwait Investment Authority, the Gulf country's sovereign-wealth fund known as the KIA, said this month it sold a $4.1 billion stake in Citigroup Inc., for a $1.1 billion profit. Shares of Citigroup fell about 3% in the early going. Read more about the Abu Dhabi, Citi spat.

Asset manager Franklin Resources also fell. It shed about 1.8% as Deutsche Bank analyst recommended clients sell it and buy rival T. Rowe Price , which rose 1 best auto loan rates.8%.

"While core trends at both firms have been solid, including strong investment performance, healthy relative flows, and significant margin improvement, industry trends have favored Franklin since June, which aided its outperformance versus the sector." The analysts concluded.

"That said," they added, "over the next 12 months, we expect industry trends to begin to favor T. Rowe Price, including improving 401k flows, a pickup in institutional flows, and a gradual shift into equities, which should drive its relative outperformance."

The analysts downgraded Franklin to hold, and upped T. Rowe Price to buy.

Also moving on analyst comments, Charles Schwab shares added 2.1%.

Deutsche Bank analysts upgraded the stock to buy from hold, and raised their price target to $25 from $18.

"Schwab has maneuvered well during the downturn, and while the stock has underperformed due to significant rate pressures, the firm is well-positioned to benefit on multiple fronts (flows, rates, and margins) as conditions improve," Deutsche Bank said in a research note.

The analysts said the call could be premature, but they think the risk is justified since they view estimates at our near "trough levels" and forecast earnings-per-share growth in the range of 60% to 80%, or more, in the next two to three years. They said they expect Schwab to outperform over the next 12 months.

Financial Stocks: Financials mixed as Citi slips on Abu Dhabi claims

Hot News: Market Snapshot: U.S. stocks dip after PPI data; dollar rises

GENEVA (Reuters) – The world&&9;s airlines are set to lose &&6;5.6 billion next year, more than previously estimated, with rising fuel costs offsetting a rebound in both passenger and air cargo, the industry group IATA said on Tuesday.

In its latest outlook, the International Air Transport Association reaffirmed its projection of a &&6;11 billion loss in 2009 -- a year its chief Giovanni Bisignani called "an Annus Horribilis" for the highly cyclical sector.

"The worst is likely behind us," Bisignani said. "For 2010, some key statistics are moving in the right direction."

IATA, whose 230 members include Cathay Pacific (0293.HK), Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), United Airlines (UAUA.O) and Emirates (EMIRA.UL), had previously said the global airline industry would lose &&6;3.8 billion next year.

Renewed consumer confidence should increase the number of people traveling by air next year back to the 2007 peak, Bisignani said. IATA also suggested air cargo volumes would rise quickly in 2010 as businesses rush to replenish their stocks.

"Cargo demand is rising faster than world trade as depleted inventories are rebuilt," it said in a statement. "Once the inventory cycle completes, growth is expected to fall back in line with world trade."

Crude oil prices should reach an average of &&6;75 per barrel in 2010, up from the &&6;61.80 average for 2009, IATA said.

"As a percentage of operating costs, fuel will be 26 percent in 2010. This is considerably lower than the 32 percent of operating costs that fuel comprised in 2008, but twice the 13 percent of operating costs that fuel represented in 2001-2002 pay day advance."

European carriers are on track to generate the largest losses of any region, &&6;2.5 billion, while Asian-Pacific carriers are due to show the most dramatic improvement with losses of &&6;700 million, according to the Geneva-based body.

North American airlines will see their losses shrink to &&6;2 billion, with Latin American carriers the only profitable regional grouping, it said.

Earlier this month IATA said that 75 major airlines reported a combined net profit of &&6;700 million in the third quarter, up from a &&6;3.4 billion loss in that period in 2008.

The darkened IATA outlook for 2010 reflects the experiences of leading carriers and airport operators who have said they are seeing signs the worst may have passed for the global economy, though recovery could come slowly.

Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA) this month said a "more dynamic" cargo sector supported signs of a slow recovery and Deutsche Lufthansa said air freight volumes were continuing to improve.

Passenger numbers at Frankfurt Airport have also risen as a result of higher demand on routes to America and Asia, the operator Fraport (FRAG.DE) said.

(Writing by Laura MacInnis; Editing by Stephanie Nebehay and Jonathan Lynn)

Airline assn raises 2010 sector loss expectations

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve has done all it can do to reduce unemployment and needs to worry more about the risk of inflation from the stimulus it poured into the economy, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Sunday.

"I think the Fed has done an extraordinary job and it&&9;s done a huge amount (to bolster employment). There&&9;s just so much monetary policy and the central bank can do. And I think they&&9;ve gone to their limits, at this particular stage," Greenspan said on NBC&&9;s "Meet the Press."

"You cannot ask a central bank to do more than it is capable of without very dire consequences," Greenspan continued, saying the United States faced a serious long-term threat of inflation unless the Fed begins to pull back "all the stimulus it put into the economy."

Greenspan, who headed the central bank from 1987 to 2006, also expressed concern about a congressional effort he said would "very significantly compromise" the Fed&&9;s independence.

The House of Representatives on Friday passed sweeping financial reform legislation that includes a provision allowing a congressional watchdog agency to audit the Fed&&9;s monetary policy operations.

That reflects concerns the Fed did not do enough to head off the worst U.S. economic downturn since the Great Depression easy online payday loans.

"What you will be getting is a monetary policy more dedicated to political short-term considerations, not to the longer-term considerations which the Federal Reserve Act is specifically constructed to do," Greenspan said.

Greenspan said he expected the U.S. unemployment rate, which is currently at 10 percent, to "be significantly lower a year from now" but still very high.

The U.S. Census Bureau&&9;s plan to hire close to 800,000 workers by April will take several tenths of a percent off the unemployment rate, he said.

The recovery in the stock market over the last six to nine months helps by putting many individuals and companies in a stronger position to spend money, he said.

The Federal Reserve will have to begin raising interest rates from current very low levels as both the economy and loan demand improve, he said.

"Remember, loan demand has been very dull because businesses are very heavily liquidating inventories. That&&9;s coming to a halt and when that happens loan demand will come back and the pressures on short-term interest rate will begin to grow," Greenspan said.

(Editing by Doina Chiacu)

Fed can do no more to cut unemployment: Greenspan

BEIJING, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Renault, France's second-largest automaker, is recalling 2,136 units of Koleos series passenger cars in China because of steering defects, said the State Administration of Quality Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) Friday.

The company said the product poses a risk of injuries because the securing nut of the steering column on the gearbox may slacken at low speed when steering is turned very far in either direction free credit report and score. This might cause the steering column itself to disconnect, resulting in a loss of steering.

Dealers will conduct detection on the involved vehicles and fasten the securing nut free of charge. The recall will start from December 25.

Renault to recall 2,136 Koleos on steering system defects

BEIJING, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The output value of China's energy saving and environmental protection industry would hit 2.8 trillion yuan (412 billion U.S. dollars) by 2012, said Xie Zhenhua, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission on Sunday.

Those sectors have become a new economic growth point and have bright prospects in China, Xie said at the fourth China-Japan Energy-saving and Environment Protection Forum which began Sunday.

He said the government will beef up investment in the construction of resource recycling projects, which will directly boost the industry development.

He noted the government will further reform the pricing system of the resource products online payday loans.

Enterprises should also enhance innovation to break technological bottleneck notably in the development of clean coal transfer technology and pollutants treatment facilities.

China has been pushing for a national energy saving campaign to address the worsening conflicts between economic growth and environmental deterioration.

China's energy-saving, environmental protection industry has bright prospect

Filed at 2:36 a.m. ET

TOKYO, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co (NYSE:HMC) , the world's seventh-biggest car maker, nearly tripled its annual profit forecasts as second-quarter earnings fell less than forecast, thanks to government stimulus schemes around the world that boosted sales.

Honda has weathered the industry turmoil, which drove two U.S. automakers to bankruptcy this year, better than many as its profitable and dominant motorcycle business cushioned the blow.

Sales by the maker of Honda Civic cars have turned up thanks to government sales incentives such as the United States' cash-for-clunkers programme. That has helped Honda and others gradually lift production levels from a nadir earlier this year.

Honda said on Tuesday its operating profit for July-September fell 56 percent to 65.54 billion yen ($712 million) from 148.85 billion yen in the second quarter last year as sales volumes fell and the yen strengthened against the dollar.

The result beat an estimate of 42 billion yen in a poll of five analysts by Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) (TSX:TRI) I/B/E/S.

Net profit, which includes its earnings from the red-hot Chinese market, was 54.04 billion yen, against 123.32 billion yen last year.

For the full year to March 31, 2010, Honda nearly tripled its operating profit outlook to 190 billion yen from 70 billion yen.

The seventh biggest car maker by first-half sales also nearly tripled its net forecast to 155 billion yen from 55 billion yen absolutely free credit report.

That topped consensus forecasts from 21 brokerages for Honda's operating profit for the full year to March 2010 to hit 139 billion yen, with net profit of 113 billion yen.

Rivals Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) and Nissan Motor Co (NASDAQ:NSANY) are also expected to report improved second-quarter earnings next week, but Honda is seen making the most profit by far for the full year, partly due to its more flexible operations, fewer exports from Japan and a slim car line-up.

While market forecasts suggest earnings will continue to improve for Honda next year, auto executives are concerned about volatile currency moves and repercussions on demand when government stimulus measures around the world end.

Honda's sales in Japan, for one, have been powered by generous tax reductions on hybrids such as its new Insight model, and executives have said sales could suffer when the incentives run their course.

Shares of Honda gained 3.9 percent during the second quarter, outperforming Tokyo's transport sector subindex, which was flat.

Honda ended down 1.9 percent at 2,845 yen on Tuesday before the results were announced, against the transport sector's 1.7 percent fall.

Honda Raises Forecast as Stimulus Fuels Sales

Hot News: Carl Icahn quits Yahoo board, commends CEO

TOKYO (Reuters) – The Japanese government has decided to put a state-backed turnaround body in charge of the revitalisation of Japan Airlines (9205.T), the Nikkei business daily said on Sunday, underlining the government&&9;s deeper involvement in the process.

Liabilities at JAL would exceed its assets by as much as &&6;8.8 billion if Asia&&9;s largest airline by revenues were liquidated, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday, underscoring the depth of the problems facing the airline as it seeks aid from banks and the state to avoid bankruptcy.

The state body, the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation of Japan (ETIC), invests in and buys debt of companies with strained balance sheets and dispatches turnaround specialists to assist them in restructuring.

JAL is now set to slash its debt under the government&&9;s guidance and come up with a drastic restructuring scheme, the Nikkei said. The decision to put JAL under ETIC&&9;s supervision will be announced as early as this week, the paper said.

The ETIC, established earlier this month, will operate like an investment fund and will initially have the ability to procure up to 1 auto loans for people with bad credit.6 trillion yen (&&6;17 billion) in state-guaranteed funding in the current fiscal year to March 2010.

No officials at the ETIC were immediately available for comment.

A task force led by turnaround specialists, which reports to Transport Minister Seiji Maehara, has been seeking a bridge loan of about 180 billion yen and a total capital boost of 300 billion yen from both the government and the private sector, the source said.

The government, working with the ETIC, will look into a new and more in-depth turnaround scheme for the airline, while paying heed to the task force&&9;s existing plans, the Nikkei said.

JAL is headed for its fourth annual loss in five years, weighed down by roughly &&6;15 billion in debt and a bloated cost base that makes it less efficient than domestic rival All Nippon Airways Co (9202.T).

(&&6;1 = 92.04 Yen)

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Sugita Katyal)

Govt-backed body to oversee JAL turnaround: Nikkei

NEW YORK &S212; Digital-era icons like Google and Twitter have made life more efficient &S212; and fun. But they also guzzle vast amounts of energy.

Scattered around the world are scores of data centers that sift through the endless streams of information that keep the Internet and office computers running. In the United States alone, those data centers accounted for 1.5 percent of the country&S217;s electricity use in 2006 &S212; more than the entire state of Massachusetts. And their power use could nearly double over five years, according to government reports.

Experts say that data centers present an obvious opportunity to improve efficiency.

&S220;It&S217;s becoming a big deal,&S221; said Dale Sartor, an energy efficiency expert at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory near San Francisco. He noted that in some cases, the energy costs of a server over its useful life of three or four years exceeded the initial cost of the server itself.

Some of the largest opportunities lie in the way data centers are kept cool. The buildings &S212; many of which are enormous &S212; must typically be kept below 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.7 Celsius), so that the chips work at maximum efficiency. And that requires a great deal of energy.

The cooling equipment alone can consume 25 percent of the power that goes into a data center, said Christian Belady, an efficiency specialist at Microsoft. &S220;So if there&S217;s anything we can do to eliminate that, right there we use 25 percent less power.&S221;

Companies are innovating in this area, not least by using a tool that is ancient and free: the weather. Last month, Microsoft opened a data storage center in Dublin, which it said would take advantage of the Irish chill to achieve greater efficiencies. The system brings in air via large, high-up ducts that are controlled by valves, so it works somewhat like an attic fan, Mr. Belady said.

Nonetheless, he said, the company has backup systems in case the temperature spikes or the air is smoky.

Other Internet giants are making similar moves. In June, Yahoo announced that it would locate a data center in Buffalo, New York, to take advantage of the &S220;micro-climate&S221; to cool the servers entirely with outside air. And Google has a data center in Belgium where, according to Niki Fenwick, a spokeswoman, &S220;the local climate allows us to efficiently cool the data center without needing to use electricity to power chillers.&S221;

She noted, however, that &S220;not all Google data centers can be located in cold climates, because we want our tools to be as fast as possible.&S221; (In other words, the transmission of data can slow down over long distances.)

A number of companies, including Microsoft, Yahoo and Deutsche Telekom&S217;s T-Systems, are also locating their data centers near hydroelectric plants, allowing them to play up the virtues of renewable power (though hydropower is often less expensive than conventional power, at least in the United States, so there is a bottom-line reason too).

Traditionally, many data centers have been designed &S220;like a vault,&S221; according to Andres Carvallo, the chief information officer for Austin Energy, a utility in the heart of Texas&S217;s high-tech &S220;Silicon Hills&S221; that runs a rebate program to encourage companies to buy more efficient data center equipment no credit check payday loan. In other words, he explained, they had no access to the outside air.

That is changing. &S220;There&S217;s certainly a renaissance around designing a data center,&S221; Mr. Carvallo said.

Companies are indeed innovating. In Uitikon, Switzerland, I.B.M. is using the waste heat from a data center to keep a swimming pool warm.

Mr. Belady of Microsoft said that his company was pushing its suppliers to build servers that could work in higher temperatures &S212; up to 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 Celsius) &S212; allowing Microsoft to build systems that use the outside air closer to the Equator.

Mr. Belady also emphasized the importance of pushing companies to measure the effectiveness of their power or energy usage, so that they could understand how much power or energy actually makes it to the number-crunching equipment, rather than going toward cooling or other auxiliary uses. Today, only about 10 percent of data center operators make such measurements, he estimated.

There is also innovation surrounding the management of the power supply to the chips, which goes through a number of transformations, said Mr. Sartor of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. For example, he said, interruptible power supplies can often be bypassed, thus avoiding losses associated with converting power from alternating current to direct current and back to alternating current. In this regard, &S220;Europeans, like so many areas of efficiency, are typically ahead&S221; of the United States, he said.

Meanwhile, the need for more computations continues to grow. Mr. Sartor cited an example in his backyard: Whereas earlier this decade a supercomputer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory used a few hundred kilowatts of power, its needs are projected to grow to 17 megawatts over the coming years.

&S220;We&S217;re talking about tens of millions of dollars to power our new supercomputer facility, and that starts catching management&S217;s concern,&S221; he said.

&S220;We are dramatically improving the efficiency of computation. The situation is that our appetite for computation is going up way faster than the efficiency is going up.&S221;

One piece of good news is that cooperation has increased in recent years among companies eager to tackle the data center efficiency problem. A number of cross-company consortiums, like the Green Grid, have sprung up (a symposium is being held this week in the Silicon Valley to discuss data center efficiency, with participation from several large multinational companies).

&S220;Everybody recognizes that we have to drive efficiency as an industry, not just as individuals,&S221; said Mr. Belady of Microsoft.

Green Inc. Column: Seeking Energy Savings at the Heart of the Internet

PARIS &S212; Britain's antitrust regulator said Thursday that it would oppose the planned merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation, warning that the consolidation of two major players in entertainment in the United States and Europe could lead to higher concert ticket prices and less competition.

When the ticketing agent and concert promoter, both based in California, announced in February that they aimed to unite, the proposal immediately raised antitrust worries in the United States and in other countries.

Together, the two companies would be a player with even greater global reach and estimated annual revenue of about $6 billion. Ticketmaster distributes tickets through thousands of retail outlets all over the world, as well as online. Live Nation is the largest concert producer in the world, and the company says it sells 45 million tickets a year.

Britain's Competition Commission, an independent public agency, said in a statement Thursday that "the merger could severely inhibit the entry of a major new competitor" and result in higher prices for consumers.

The agency noted that the proposed merger would jeopardize an existing agreement between Live Nation and CTS Eventim, a ticketing and live entertainment company based in Germany.

The commission said it expected to issue a final decision on Nov. 24.

John Park, a spokesman for the agency, said that "final decisions usually reflect the provisional. At this point we have a thorough assessment easy fast payday loans."

He added, however, that there were a number of potential remedies that might allow a deal to proceed.

"One option would require Live Nation to use CTS for a portion of its business," he said. "Another is a potential divestment" of all or part of Live Nation's or Ticketmaster's operations in Britain, he said.

In response, Ticketmaster and Live Nation said that they would cooperate with the commission and that they remained committed to the merger. They argued that the deal would be in the public interest.

"We believe this merger will build a more efficient and effective company moving forward," the companies said, "and that working together we will be able to help achieve needed change that will strengthen a flagging music industry."

The two companies' willingness to make concessions will be key to whether or not the deal goes through, but a Ticketmaster spokeswoman declined to comment on their strategy.

The proposed merger is still being reviewed by the Justice Department.

Ticketmaster has said before that it does not set ticket prices and leaves those decisions to the artists. However, the company owns a controlling stake in a major artist management firm, Front Line Management.

CTS saw its shares rise 2.16 percent to 32.69 euros in midday trading.

British Regulator Objects to Ticketmaster Merger

LONDON (AFP) – European stock markets edged lower on Thursday, the first day of the fourth quarter, as investors paused after London&&9;s biggest-ever quarterly gain on economic recovery hopes, dealers said.

The FTSE 100 index eased 0.47 percent to 5,109.80 points in late morning trade.

Frankfurt&&9;s DAX 30 slid 0.38 percent to 5,653.47 points and in Paris the CAC 40 drifted 0.61 percent lower to 3,772.21 points.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of top eurozone shares dipped 0.59 percent to 2,855.64.

London&&9;s FTSE had surged by a record-breaking 21 percent during the third quarter, which ended on Wednesday, as investors were heartened by mounting evidence that the global economy was on the mend.

German shares jumped 15 percent and French stocks soared by 17 percent in value in the three months to the end of September.

"The FTSE 100 has enjoyed its best ever quarter, adding 21 percent over the last three months, leaving many to ask the question whether the rally can now continue," said analyst Ben Potter at financial betting firm IG Index.

"Certainly any pick up in mergers and acquisitions activity will lend support across the board, whilst higher resource prices will support the heavyweight mining and petrochemicals sectors."

However, European equities had fallen for the second day running on Wednesday, after publication of worse-than-expected jobs data in the United States, which is the world&&9;s biggest economy.

Despite ending in negative territory, the London FTSE has now gained about 15 percent since the start of 2009.

ODL Securities analyst John Murphy also questioned whether the rally was sustainable.

"A stellar run has left the markets looking healthy, but investors are still asking themselves if it is a bubble, and if so, when will it burst?" Murphy commented easy payday loans.

"Whilst it is important to appreciate the past, one needs to keep looking forward, and as we enter October, will talk of crashes become a self-fulfilling prophecy?"

Wall Street shares fell for the second consecutive day on Wednesday after data showing a steep drop in private sector payrolls fuelled increased jitters on the economic outlook.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.31 percent to close at 9,712.28 in a roller-coaster session.

Despite ending the day on a deficit, the Dow closed the third quarter with an impressive 15 percent gain -- its best quarter since 1998.

Meanwhile in Asia on Thursday, Japanese shares sank 1.53 percent, hitting a two-month low in the wake of losses on Wall Street and signs that Japanese firms plan to curb their investment, dealers said.

Tokyo&&9;s benchmark Nikkei-225 index ended at 9,978.64, the weakest close since July 24.

The Nikkei had closed the third quarter on Wednesday with a slender gain of 1.7 percent.

Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Richard Hunter said the upcoming third-quarter company results season would prove crucial for stocks.

"Over the next few weeks, third-quarter earnings will gradually take centre stage. These results will have a major bearing on where markets go next," he said.

On the foreign exchange market, the European single currency fell to 1.4576 dollars in Thursday morning deals.

European equities slip at start of fourth quarter

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asian stocks retreated from 13-month highs on Friday as a conflicting picture about the strength of U.S. economic recovery stopped investors from extending this week&&9;s rally but gave some respite to a battered U.S. dollar.

European stocks futures were down 0.4 percent while U.S. equity futures were 0.3 percent lower, pointing to a weak start for shares in Europe and the United States.

Investors in Japan were cautious ahead of a stretch of public holidays early next week even though the Bank of Japan deputy governor, Hirohide Yamaguchi, said a positive business cycle was starting and signaled the central bank could soon withdraw emergency support for corporate funding.

"A pickup in the global economy is expected to continue for some time," Yamaguchi told a forum in Tokyo.

The Nikkei index (.N225) fell 0.7 percent, breaking a three-day rally.

Shares in Shanghai (.SSEC) were down 1.7 percent by early afternoon as investors fretted about the prospect of a sharp rise in shares from upcoming IPOs and worried that recent gains may be overdone.

Stock market jitters took pressure off the dollar, which held above one-year lows reached on Thursday against a basket of currencies (.DXY), although analysts said its respite could be temporary.

"We are seeing a bit of a pullback but the broader U.S. dollar weakness remains intact as it turns to be the currency for carry trades," said Jonathan Cavenagh, currency strategist at Westpac in Australia.

OPTIMISM TEMPERED

Investors across Asia stood back after equities hit their highest level in 13 months on Thursday. While there is growing confidence the global economy is on an uptrend there is uncertainty about the strength of that recovery.

Data on Thursday showed U.S. housing starts hit their highest level last month since November, but a rise in the number of Americans drawing long-term unemployment compensation tempered optimism for a sharp rebound in the world&&9;s biggest economy.

The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan ( bad credit payday advance.MIAPJ0000PUS) dipped 0.6 percent, after surging 80 percent since mid-March when markets started to rally on investors&&9; hopes that the financial crisis had bottomed out.

Shares in Korea bucked the region as the KOSPI index (.KS11) eked out a 0.3 percent gain, helped by foreign investors picking up shares before global index compiler FTSE promotes South Korea&&9;s share market to developed market status, from advanced emerging market, from Monday.

Japanese government bond futures rebounded in early trade as Tokyo stocks fell, but December 10-year JGB futures were virtually flat by late afternoon at 138.55.

Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said the government could cut new JGB issuance this fiscal year when the new government reviews an extra budget compiled by the previous government, but gave no details.

Gold edged up to &&6;1,012.20 an ounce from its New York close at &&6;1,011.45, but below an 18-month high of &&6;1,023.85 on Thursday.

Seen as a hedge against potential inflation, gold is likely to stay firm and many market participants still expect it to break through its record high of &&6;1,030.80.

Otherwise, commodity (.CRB) prices slipped on uncertainty about the strength of the global economic recovery and the oil price edged down 34 cents to &&6;72.13 a barrel.

Weaker commodity markets put pressure on shares of Australian resources companies, such as mining giant BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) which fell 2.3 percent, and helped push the Aussie dollar below Thursday&&9;s one-year high.

But shares in Qantas Airways (QAN.AX) jumped 3.7 percent after positive comments on the carrier from broker RBS.

Qantas was also reported to be teaming up with American Airlines and British Airways (BAY.L) to expand an alliance with cash-strapped Japan Airlines (9205.T), whose shares rose 2.4 percent.

(Additional reporting by Anirban Nag in Sydney and Leika Kihara in Tokyo; Editing by Jan Dahinten)

Asian shares retreat, dollar gains respite

PARIS &S212; While the world&S217;s airlines will continue to suffer steep financial losses in the short term, Airbus predicted Thursday that demand for new aircraft would remain healthy over the next 20 years, thanks to steady air traffic growth in the developing world and the rapid expansion of low-cost carriers.

The European plane maker forecast that airlines would buy nearly 25,000 new jets between now and 2028, with a market value of $3.1 trillion. That represents an increase of 2.7 percent from its previous forecast in February 2008, when air carriers were still reeling from the initial brunt of the global economic crisis.

Airbus, which expects to secure orders for around 300 planes this year, also said that the steep decline in world air traffic would likely stabilize in 2010 and could rise by as much as 4.6 percent &S212; not far from the average 5 percent growth over the past 30 years. The company forecast a drop in 2009 traffic of between 2 percent and 4 percent.

&S220;Air transportation is a growth industry and an essential ingredient in the world economy,&S221; said John Leahy, Airbus&S217;s chief salesman.

The International Air Transport Association said Wednesday that it expected the world&S217;s airlines to lose $11 billion this year on top of a $16.8 billion loss in 2008. But despite those hefty losses, Mr. Leahy said Airbus had seen relatively few order delays and cancellations.

&S220;A lot of people have talked about massive cancellations in the recession, but that&S217;s not really true,&S221; Mr. Leahy said at a presentation in London. He said Airbus had received fewer than 40 cancellations this year, less than 1 percent of the company&S217;s order backlog of around 3,600 planes. Still, he acknowledged that many customers were having difficulty securing financing and had postponed deliveries &S212; some by several years.

&S220;I think it&S217;s going to be a difficult winter,&S221; Mr. Leahy said, noting that while airlines had managed to fill most of their seats during the peak summer travel season, many had been forced to cut fares, leaving them with less cash.

&S220;At some point, we see a continuation of some requests for deferrals, but even that is already included&S221; in the 20-year forecast figures, he said. He declined to specify how many orders had been delayed so far.

The company&S217;s American rival, Boeing, has at least 64 order cancellations this year, almost all of them for its forthcoming 787 &S220;Dreamliner,&S221; which has been delayed more than two years by production snags credit reports free.

Analysts have warned that the ballooning industry losses are almost certain to lead to further delays and cancellations of orders in the months to come. Without steep cuts in production by both Boeing and Airbus, that could lead to significant surpluses of aircraft on the market, which could weigh heavily on jet prices. Analysts at UBS last month forecast that there would be a global surplus of 1,400 commercial jets by the end of this year.

&S220;We&S217;re still very cautious,&S221; Mr. Leahy said in a telephone interview, though he insisted global overcapacity currently stood at no more than 350 planes. &S220;Right now, there is more downside risk than upside potential.

Airbus said it continued to see the greatest demand for passenger planes in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in China and India. Asia is expected to account for 31 percent of new aircraft sales over the next two decades, followed by Europe, with 25 percent, and North America, with 23 percent. Sales in Europe and North America will largely be driven by the need to replace older, less fuel-efficient fleets, as well as the continued expansion of low-cost carriers, which currently represent about one-fifth of all seats sold.

More than two-thirds of the new planes to be sold will be single-aisle jets like the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737, which are used heavily by low-cost airlines, Airbus said. Large twin-aisle planes like Airbus&S217;s planned A350-XWB and the Boeing 787 will probably represent about 25 percent of the aircraft sold, while planes that seat 400 or more passengers &S212; the A380 and the Boeing 747 &S212; will be about 7 percent of the market.

The Airbus 20-year forecast compares with one published by Boeing in June, which predicted sales of 29,000 commercial planes over the same period, down from a 2008 estimate of 29,400 planes.

The Russian state-controlled airline Aeroflot said Thursday that it plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs amid plunging profits, The Associated Press reported from Moscow.

Irina Dannenberg, an Aeroflot spokeswoman, said the cuts will occur within the next six months and will amount to 13 percent of the work force for the airline &S212; Russia&S217;s largest carrier.

The company&S217;s net profit fell in July by 88 percent to $37 million compared to a year ago.

Airbus Sees Healthy Long-Term Demand for New Planes

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asian stocks edged up on Tuesday, with markets in South Korea and Taiwan closing at 14-month highs, as investors put their faith in the global economic recovery and looked past a trade spat between the United States and China.

European shares opened slightly higher, with futures on the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 up 0.4 percent.

The technology and exporter sectors were the biggest gainers on a day without a major theme driving the markets in Asia. LG Electronics (066570.KS), the world&&9;s No. 3 handset maker, jumped more than 3 percent in Seoul to snap a weeklong slide.

"Investors want to know if the U.S. economy is ready for a turnaround without government help and how consumers are faring," said Kim Young-june, a market analyst at SK Securities in Seoul, before U.S. retail sales data is released later.

The Nikkei average (.N225) rose 0.2 percent as companies such as Canon Inc (7751.T) bounced back from a slide sparked by the yen&&9;s jump to a seven-month high against the dollar, which took the Japanese currency into territory seen as damaging to exporter earnings.

The yen slipped beyond 91 per dollar, providing some relief to investors worried that sustained gains would prove a serious obstacle to Japan Inc&&9;s gradual recovery this year.

While officials in the outgoing Japanese government voiced concern about the yen&&9;s rise, the former finance minister tipped to again take the helm of the ministry -- Hirohisa Fujii -- has said Japan should not intervene in markets.

"Market participants speculate Fujii may be more tolerant of a stronger yen and reluctant about intervening in the forex market," said Makoto Yamashita, chief Japan interest rate strategist at Deutsche Securities in Tokyo.

Japan has racked up foreign reserves totaling more than &&6;1 trillion, second only to China&&9;s, from its previous bouts of yen-selling intervention.

But Japan has stayed out of the market since 2004, even during last year&&9;s violent yen surge as leveraged carry trades were unwound. The lack of action has stirred questions about whether Tokyo has already adopted a more hands-off currency policy.

Trading activity was limited during the day because Hong Kong&&9;s financial markets were closed for the morning as Typhoon Koppu swept through the city. The Hong Kong bourse was set to open for the afternoon session.

Taiwan&&9;s TAIEX (.TWII) outperformed the region, climbing 1.2 percent to a 14-month high on hopes that the launch of Microsoft&&9;s Windows 7 will boost demand for PC makers such as Asustek (2357 payday loan.TW).

Seoul&&9;s KOSPI (.KS11) rose 1.1 percent, with financial shares such as Shinhan Financial Group (055550.KS) leading gains.

The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was up 0.9 percent, recouping some of the previous day&&9;s losses and hovering just below a one-year peak struck last week. For the year, the MSCI benchmark for Asia is still up about 53 percent.

On Monday, the U.S. S&P 500 (.SPX) edged up 0.6 percent and reached its highest levels of 2009 after a slew of merger activity suggested big investors still see value in the market following this year&&9;s rebound.

Optimism about potential deals overshadowed concerns about trade friction between the United States and China after Washington imposed special duties on Chinese tire imports.

China unveiled data on Tuesday showing that tire exports fell in the first half of a year to rebut Washington&&9;s accusation it was flooding the U.S. market, even as both countries moved to allay concerns about a trade war.

The battered U.S. dollar edged down in Asia, falling back toward a one-year low touched on Friday. The dollar index (.DXY), a gauge of its performance against six major currencies, was down 0.1 percent at 76.596.

The pound helped drag the dollar lower, rising 0.4 percent to &&6;1.6640 after a report showing house prices in England and Wales rose for the first time in two years in August.

Against the yen, the dollar edged up 0.2 percent to 91.10 yen, pulling up from the seven-month low of 90.18 yen hit on Monday. The euro dipped 0.1 percent to &&6;1.4615 but hovered near a nine-month high.

The Australian dollar slipped after the country&&9;s central bank felt the economy was substantially stronger than expected at this month&&9;s policy meeting but decided there was enough uncertainty over the outlook to argue against a rate hike, according to meeting minutes.

The Aussie dipped 0.2 percent to &&6;0.8604, just below a one-year high.

Safe-haven government bonds lost ground as stock markets stabilised. The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield edged up 2 basis points to 1.310 percent, holding in a range between 1.285 percent and 1.355 percent over the past few weeks.

South Korea and Taiwan shares hit 14-month highs

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