PARIS (AFP) – European stock markets sprinted ahead Monday, powered by strong gains in Asia, with Frankfurt breaking through the 6,000-point barrier and Paris closing in on 4,000 points.

Trading volumes were thin in post-Christmas exchanges and the London market was closed for a holiday.

The advances in Europe followed a solid performance in Asia, where Tokyo&&9;s Nikkei-225 index added 1.33 percent to close at 10,634.23, its best finish since August 26, on the back of a weaker yen and upbeat economic data.

The German Dax index of leading stocks breached 6,000 points as trading began on Monday, the first time it had reached the benchmark since September 26, 2008.

The index opened at 5,977.99 points but moved to 6,001.38 points in early trade. By midday it was up 0.74 percent at 6,001.43.

Shares in the biggest German energy group, E.ON, rose 2.28 percent to lead the gainers while auto maker Volkswagen added 1.40 percent.

In Paris the CAC 40 had risen 0.72 percent to 3,940.95 from Thursday&&9;s close while the Eurostoxx index of leading eurozone shares was up 0.76 percent at 2,979.83.

The Paris market last week recorded consecutive daily gains from Monday to Thursday, ending the period at its highest level for 15 months.

Market watchers said the 4,000-point threshold could be reached later this week. But analysts cautioned that the advance would likely reflect weak trading volumes rather than increased confidence in global economic recovery prospects.

Nuclear energy group Areva fell 2.74 percent in early Paris trade after a French industrial alliance was passed over by the United Arab Emirates in bidding for the construction of four nuclear power plants cash advance to savings account.

The UAE awarded the 20.4-billion-dollar contract to a South Korean-led consortium, the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).

Areva had been joined by France&&9;s top energy firms, EDF, GDF-Suez and Total, along with engineering giants Vinci and Alstom to present the bid.

EDF, GDF-Suez, Total, Vinci and Alston shrugged off the loss and gained ground early Monday.

In Tokyo earlier in the day better-than-expected factory output data for November cheered investors.

Nippon Oil surged 4.8 percent and Nippon Mining Holdings leapt 5.4 percent after the Nikkei reported that the two companies would slash their combined oil refinery capacity after a planned merger.

"Overcapacity has been a major problem for the sector, so this is definitely a positive," said Tokai Tokyo Research Center analyst Katsumi Hosoi.

Exporters got a boost from the weaker yen while steel makers were lifted by the robust industrial production numbers, which raised optimism about the outlook for demand for their products.

Elsewhere in Asia there were gains of 1.51 percent in Shanghai and 0.63 percent in Singapore. In Hong Kong shares fell 0.17 percent.

On Wall Street traders were reportedly set to close out 2009 on a high note, with markets expected to hold on to solid gains after staging a remarkable turnaround from a chaotic start to the year.

European stocks climb after Asian gains

PARIS &<51; The United Arab Emirates said Sunday that it had chosen a South Korean-led consortium for a $20 billion contract to create the first nuclear power reactors in the Middle East.

The Korean consortium beat out a General Electric-Hitachi team and a French consortium that included &>01;lectricit&>33; de France and Areva.

The deal, one of the largest in the energy sector this year, comes amid a resurgence of nuclear power projects and had involved high-profile lobbying from officials including the presidents Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Lee Myung-bak of South Korea.

The deal went forward after the U.A.E. signed an agreement with Washington on Dec. 17 to alleviate proliferation concerns. The Arab country, a federation of seven Gulf principalities, agreed in that protocol that it would not enrich uranium or reprocess spent fuel.

After a decade of strong growth, the U.A.E., a leading oil producer, is seeking to modernize its utilities sector and diversify its energy sources. It imports most of the natural gas that it burns to generate electricity and using its own oil would reduce amounts available for export.

Under the deal announced in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, Korea Electric Power will lead a group that includes Westinghouse, the American subsidiary of Toshiba, in designing, building and helping to operate four 1,400-megawatt nuclear power plants for the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation. The first of the third-generation units is supposed to be online in 2017, with the others providing electricity to the grid by 2020.

The contract had been hotly contested. The deal ultimately could be worth as much as $40 billion if the initial four plants are successful and the arrangement is extended.

&S220;The nature of this project will require a partnership that endures for nearly 100 years,&S221; Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chairman of ENEC, said in a statement announcing the winning bid emergency payday loan.

The Korean consortium agreed to take &S220;a high percentage&S221; of the contract under a fixed-price arrangement, an important consideration in an industry in which major cost overruns are the norm. Korean investors will also take an equity interest in the project, will be modeled on the South Korean utility sector.

The task is nonetheless a daunting one. Essentially all of the technical expertise and much of the manual labor will have to be brought in from abroad, as will the reactor components and the fuel. The U.A.E. electrical grid will also have to be substantially improved.

Officials in the U.A.E. said they were still discussing cooperation with the other bidders in areas like long-term fuel supply, investments and training.

The Korean group also includes Doosan Heavy Industries &&8; Construction, Hyundai Engineering &&8; Construction and Samsung C&&8;T. Korea Electric Power, owned by the South Korean government, operates 20 nuclear plants, generating about 40 percent of the country&S217;s electricity. The U.A.E. contract is its first big export deal.

&S220;We can now stand shoulder to shoulder with the U.S., Japan, France and Russia in our advance into the international market,&S221; the Yonhap news agency quoted Mr. Lee, the South Korean president, as saying.

Despite the nonproliferation agreement signed with Washington, there remains concern in some quarters about the security of nuclear facilities in the U.A.E., which lies in a volatile region just across the Gulf from Iran. The U.A.E. nuclear authorities are evaluating potential sites for the plants.

South Korea to Build Reactors in Middle East

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)

• Market Snapshot: U.S. stocks in focus • Sign up for free, breaking-news email alerts • Technology stocks | Energy stocks • Metals stocks | Retail stocks • Financials | Airline stocks | Pharma and Biotech • Bond Report | Oil News | EarningsWatch • Currencies | Market Data | Economic Calendar

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

Skeptical kids can doubt whether Santa Claus exists. But for stock-market statisticians, there's not much debate: The year-end lift known as the Santa Claus rally is no myth.

The stock market typically posts modest, but reliable, gains in late December into the beginning of early January.

"It's pretty much like clockwork," says Jeff Hirsch, editor of the Stock Trader's Almanac, which tracks market trends. "And when it doesn't happen, it can be a very helpful warning of impending trouble."

This year the stock market began December in somewhat typical fashion with a stagnant first half of the month. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index is up just 0.6 percent so far in December, and the Dow Jones industrial average is down 0.2 percent.

That leaves room for the market to snap back by the end of the year, although stocks are still facing headwinds from lingering doubts about the economy as well as trepidation among investors about the huge gains logged so far this year. The S&P is already up 22 percent in 2009, the Dow 18 percent.

The entire period around the end of the year, though, has a bullish track record.

Consider:

&S226; November through January tends to be the best three-month span for stocks. Over the past four decades the average gain from Nov. 20 through the end of January has been 4.2 percent, or an annualized rate of 23 percent, according to James Stack, president of InvesTech Research in Whitefish, Mont.

&S226; December is the best single month, with the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index averaging a 1.6 percent gain. The first December after a bear market ends performs even better, averaging 3.1 percent.

&S226; The S&P has increased an average of 1.5 percent during the seven trading days that start with Christmas Eve and end with the first two days in January since 1950. That's the widely recognized period for the Santa Claus rally, as first identified in 1972 by Stock Trader's Almanac founder Yale Hirsch, Jeff's father.

&S226; Stocks went up in 12 of the last 15 of those year-end periods saving account payday loan.

To better understand what drives the Santa Claus rally, let's look at the variety of positive factors for the stock market that usually come together around this time of the year.

The holidays are the strongest retail season of the year, giving a boost to the economy while also generating positive headlines. Year-end investment reports also tend to offer upbeat outlooks for the coming year, and often plug hot stock picks just as investors are repositioning their portfolios.

And since lots of investors are already in a good mood this time of year anyway, more people tend to be buying rather than selling around the holidays.

"It's one of the most reliable rallies of the year," says Scott Marcouiller, senior equity strategist for Wells Fargo Advisers. "The probability is very high that we get a move up before the end of this year."

Also, investors who might normally sell stocks for tax purposes late in the year could be more likely to hold off this time around. Since this stock market rally is only nine months old, any gains from stocks bought this year would be considered short-term profits by the IRS. That would mean a much higher tax rate than gains on assets held for more than a year.

Even those who aren't interested in buying stocks during the holiday season would do well to keep an eye on the market. In years when there hasn't been enough enthusiasm for a Santa Claus rally, it's often been a sign that turmoil lies ahead.

After 1999, for example, when there was no Santa Claus rally, the market tanked in 2000. And a late-year drop two years ago was a forerunner to a disastrous 2008.

Some market experts take dim views of trends based on the calendar. But the Santa Claus rally still has plenty of believers on Wall Street.

Santa Claus rally could still show up this year

PARIS &S212; Spyker Cars, the tiny Dutch automaker whose last-ditch bid for Saab was rejected Friday by General Motors, came back Sunday with a renewed offer for the struggling Swedish icon, which G.M. has said it plans to shut down.

A spokesman for G.M. reacted cautiously to Spyker&S217;s new offer, which many industry insiders consider a long shot. However, he said other potential buyers had expressed interest in Saab since Friday&S217;s announcement.

&S220;We continue to wind down Saab but during that process we&S217;ve received several expressions of interest and we evaluate these offers as they come, but beyond that we&S217;re not making any comment,&S221; said Chris Preuss, the G.M. spokesman.

G.M. said Friday that it did not think a deal could be concluded by its Dec. 31 deadline because of concerns about Spyker that arose during the final negotiations. G.M. said that left it no alternative but to begin winding down Saab&S217;s operations in Trollhattan, Sweden.

Upping the ante Sunday, Victor Muller, Spyker&S217;s chief executive, said he had presented G.M. with an 11-point proposal that addressed the automaker&S217;s concerns. He imposed a deadline of his own of 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Monday for G.M. to respond to his offer.

&S220;Despite our collective 11th-hour set-back, we are returning to the table with a renewed offer that addresses every known issue brought to light during the initial negotiations and that has the full backing of the Saab Management,&S221; Mr. Muller said in a statement.

Publicly, G.M. executives declined to identify their problems with Spyker, but several officials familiar with the negotiations said G.M. was troubled by Spyker&S217;s reliance on Russian loans to finance the deal, as well as the fate of its proprietary technology under Spyker.

The biggest investor in Spyker is the Russian bank Convers Group, which is controlled by Alexander Antonov, a tycoon who was shot seven times and reportedly lost a finger in a failed assassination attempt in Moscow in March.

His son Vladimir, 34, is a top executive at Convers and chairman of Spyker.

In the first half of 2009, Spyker borrowed &S364;11.6 million, or $16.6 million, from Bank Snoras, a Lithuanian bank also controlled by the Antonovs.

Another snag had been the question of whether Spyker could win a &S364;400 million loan from the European Investment Bank that had been part of an earlier plan to sell Saab to Koenigsegg, a Swedish maker of high-end sports cars. That deal collapsed last month.

In his statement Sunday, Mr. Muller said Spyker, whose specialty sports cars retail for roughly a quarter-million dollars each, could complete the deal without the European Investment Bank&S217;s help.

&S220;The new offer eliminates the need for an E.I.B. loan approval prior to year-end, for example, which will allow the deal to be concluded within G.M.&S217;s deadline,&S221; he said.

&S220;Our company motto is nulla tenaci invia est via &S212; for the tenacious no road is impassable,&S221; Mr. Muller added. &S220;And we intend to remain true to that throughout these negotiations as we bid to secure Saab&S217;s future and revive the company.&S221;

In Trollhattan, which was hit hard by Friday&S217;s announcement, the new Spyker offer provoked a brief flurry of hope.

&S220;It&S217;s good news, of course, but it&S217;s difficult to say too much,&S221; said Paul Akerlund, chairman of the IF Metall union at Saab, which represents about 1,500 of the automaker&S217;s 3,500 employees in Trollhattan infrared heaters. &S220;Now we&S217;re waiting to see what G.M. says, but we know Spyker really wants to buy Saab.&S221;

&S220;People still have hopes but they&S217;re waiting on G.M.,&S221; he added.

Saab was set to introduce a new version of its 9-5 luxury sedan in showrooms in April, the first update of the company&S217;s top-end car in 12 years. But G.M. said Friday the car would not make it to market if Saab does indeed shut down.

The region around Trollhattan and Gotenburg in western Sweden is home to both Saab and Volvo, and Saab&S217;s collapse would devastate the network of parts makers and other firms that supply the two companies.

On Saturday, the Swedish press reported that a consortium of local investors was considering a new bid for Saab, which, along with Volvo and Ikea, is among the country&S217;s best-known brands.

Even as the Saab drama plays out, Volvo Car is in the final stages of being sold by Ford Motor to Zhejiang Geely Holding of China.

After G.M.&S217;s decision to walk away Friday, Mr. Akerlund said, &S220;some people were frustrated, some were angry and some were sad. Maybe this new offer can help so we can have a solution at the end of the day.&S221;

Since the beginning of the year, G.M. has been trying to unload Saab, which has been a perennial money-loser despite a devoted following in Scandinavia, the northeastern United States and parts of Europe.

With sales of just 93,000 cars worldwide, Saab proved too small to draw the interest of bigger automakers that are looking to global alliances to achieve new economies of scale. That left the field of bidders to far smaller companies like Koenigsegg and now Spyker.

Turning around Saab would be a huge challenge for Spyker, given G.M&S217;s. inability to turn a profit at the subsidiary as well as Spyker&S217;s lack of experience in mass car manufacturing. Spyker sells 30 to 50 high-performance sports cars a year, which are made to individual order.

&S220;It&S217;s something of a long shot, and I wonder if Spyker has the depth of management to deal with a company the size of Saab,&S221; said Peter Wells, co-director for industry research of the Center for Automotive Research at Cardiff University in Wales. &S220;I don&S217;t think Spyker can float Saab for a significant amount of time,&S221; he said.

The longer Saab&S217;s fate hangs in the balance, he added, the longer the odds of saving it.

&S220;Every day that goes by the brand gets more damaged, especially in the eyes of consumers,&S221; Mr. Wells said. Despite Saab&S217;s famously loyal customer base, he said, &S220;it&S217;s very difficult to recover from that.&S221;

Even if the Spyker bid fails &S212; and other buyers don&S217;t emerge to rescue Saab &S212; G.M. said warranties will still be honored and Saab owners around the world will still be able to find parts and service.

In all, 1,100 dealerships worldwide will be affected, including about 200 in the United States.

Tiny Automaker Renews Saab Offer

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

Filed at 11:31 p.m. ET

NANJING, China (AP) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao says Beijing will keep the value of its currency, the yuan, at a stable and balanced level, shrugging off appeals for faster reforms.

Wen made the comment following a summit Monday with European Union leaders, who are urging China to move more quickly in loosening controls that keep the yuan, also known as the renminbi, linked to the weakening U.S. dollar.

Wen said that ''to maintain the basic stability of the rmb exchange rate is conducive to the economy and the recovery of the world economy low fee payday loans.''

He described as ''unfair'' demands for changes and accused critics of China's policies as ''practicing trade protectionism against developing countries.''

EU Seeks China’s Help on Climate Change and Currency

MANILA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assured to the visiting team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday the country's economic managers can maintain fiscal stability.

"The IMF need not be concerned about the Philippines' commitment to fiscal stability which has been duly recognized through our successive credit rating upgrades," Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Gary Olivar said in a statement.

The dwindling revenues combined with stimulus spending and post-calamity reconstruction programs have led to a huge budget deficit. With the fiscal deficit hitting 266.1 billion pesos (5.6 billion U.S. dollars) by end-October, or 16.1 billion pesos (341.1 million U.S. dollars) more than what was programmed for the whole year, the IMF is asking how the Philippine government can close narrow a huge deficit low fee payday loans.

But Olivar noted that despite increased government spending, the country's deficit-to-GDP ratio remains manageable and under 4 percent.

"Fiscal space remains ample," Olivar said, adding that the government is redoubling tax collections, lobbying the Congress to pass laws to raise revenues and are selling state-owned assets to close the budget gap.

A visiting IMF mission is in Manila this week in line with the so-called Article IV of the agreement with member countries.

A senior Philippine economic manager said the IMF team is interested to know how the Philippine government can improve its tax collection. Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

Philippines can maintain fiscal stability: President Arroyo

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- TomTom shares have lost their sense of direction over the last month, with the stock down by more than a third, as worries about competition and third-quarter earnings lead the stock off route.

TomTom , the Dutch-listed personal satellite navigation firm, has seen its shares swing like a winding road: from a low of 2.12 euros in March, then, after it cut debt by selling discounted shares to investors, rising to 13.35 euros on Sept. 11.

But now the stock is back on its way down, skidding to 6.95 euros a share on Friday, a downturn of 35% from late October levels.

Analysts have focused on two areas in the last few weeks -- results and the threat of increased competition from Internet search engine giant Google .

Taking past performance first, on Oct. 28 TomTom reported that its net income fell 47% in the third quarter of 2009, to 31 million euros, below analyst forecasts for a profit of 36.4 million euros.

Revenue fell 15% to 365 million euros in the quarter, missing a 369 million euro analyst forecast compiled by Dow Jones Newswires.

The company's results were hit by lower selling prices for its key navigation products in the quarter, with average prices to 99 euros, a 27% fall from year-earlier levels and a 12% drop from the second quarter.

"The decline was driven by price decreases across a number of products, partly in anticipation of promotional activities in the fourth quarter. We continue to expect that the rate of [average price] decline for the full year will be slower than in 2008," TomTom said.

Writing about TomTom's third-quarter results, Societe Generale analysts said "sales were slightly disappointing and management did not offer any exciting fourth-quarter outlook. In our view this has tempered a lot of the enthusiasm built over the past months around a recovery in the personal navigation device industry."

Future profits were very much also on the minds of TomTom investors on that day after Google revealed that it has upgraded its smartphone software to include a free navigation feature.

In a blog posting, Google said that it will launch Google Maps Navigation, which provides turn-by-turn directions and can be found within Google's Android operating system.

"Obviously the market for such handsets initially will be limited, but Google is resetting the price benchmark for navigation services at $0.00, which puts TomTom's business model into question," said the analysts at Societe Generale.

They called Google's move an "extremely negative development" for TomTom.

Julian Chillingworth, chief investment officer of Rathbone Unit Trust Management, said he's stayed from buying TomTom. "I am slightly dubious about technology companies with one product offering," he said.

But there are some hope for a u-turn in the stock.

Rival Garmin reported results on Nov paydayloans. 4 and said that its third-quarter profit rose a much-stronger-than-forecast 26% to $215 million.

"Garmin reported a strong increase in the gross and operating margin of its automotive business on the back of solid average selling prices, lower component prices and tight cost control," said analyst Martijn den Drijver at SNS Securities.

Also, Garmin noted that European markets improved markedly in the third quarter compared to the first half of 2009, he said.

"Given that TomTom's largest market is Europe that should be seen as positive as Garmin's market share in Europe has remained steady at 20%," den Drijver at SNS Securities. TomTom has a market share of around 44% in Europe.

Additionally, the average selling price news from Garmin suggests that TomTom's lower third-quarter average price is likely to be a one-off.

"TomTom explained that the ASP was due to earlier than normal promotions and the depreciation of the U.S. dollar," he said.

On valuation metrics, TomTom appears cheaper than Garmin. TomTom trades on 11.2 times estimated 2010 results and 9.0 times 2011 earnings. In contrast, Garmin trades on 12.4 times 2010 earnings and 13.4 times 2011 results, according to FactSet data.

There are questions about how successful Google's move will be as well.

"We do not know yet how fast smart phone manufacturers will adopt the Android operating system," said den Drijver.

He said that Samsung, Sony Ericsson, HTC, Motorola and LG all have some Android models but "these are not major players in the smart phone market, which is dominated by Nokia, Research In Motion and Apple who have a combined market share of over 76%." In addition, consumers can use TomTom's navigational product over Apple's iPhone.

He also said smart phones "continue to be a sub-optimal means of navigation in a car due to the small screen size, low battery life, inferior speaker quality and complicated pricing."

Still, "sentiment-wise, Google's announcement obviously does not help as it implies that maps have become a commodity," he said.

Will James, a fund manager at Standard Life Investments, made a similar point.

"The idea of commoditization has suddenly raised the question about how to monetize maps. Google can leverage their strong position in advertising," said James, whose employer is the group's 17th-largest holder, according to FactSet data.

But he still holds out hopes for the company.

"I think that the market is worrying about something that is quite a long way off," he said. "You can argue a lot of this is in the price. TomTom will continue their penetration into the car market and it will probably bring them closer to Apple."

European Stocks to Watch: TomTom stock loses its way

BEIJING (Reuters) – China should keep the yuan stable, in part because that is beneficial for a global economic recovery, a Commerce Ministry spokesman said on Monday.

The yuan&&9;s exchange rate has little to do with its trade imbalance, spokesman Yao Jian told a news conference.

He added that it was unfair to urge just one country to increase the value of its currency, as other currencies fall in value.

Yao was speaking shortly after International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said a stronger yuan is part of the reforms that Beijing needs to implement to increase domestic consumption and help ease global imbalances fast cash.

(Reporting by Aileen Wang and Jason Subler; Editing by Ken Wills)

China should keep yuan stable: commerce ministry

A day after a spirited rally sent the Dow to its highest levels since the beginning of the financial crisis, Wall Street took a moment to breathe, with stocks showing little or no gains on Tuesday.

From the opening bell to the close, the enthusiasm of Monday&S217;s rally, which pushed the Dow up more than 200 points, seemed to have dissipated. The dollar remained weak, and a rush for gold slowed slightly.

At the end, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 20.03 points, or 0.2 percent, at 10,246.97. The broader Standard and Poor&S217;s 500-stock index declined less than a point to 1,093.01, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 2.98 points, or 0.14 percent, at 2,151.08.

The stock exchanges will be open Wednesday on Veteran&S217;s Day, but the bond markets will be closed.

Shares of financial companies, particularly regional banks, were among laggards. Zions Bancorp declined 7.66 percent, to $13.26; SunTrust fell 3.38 percent, to $20.29; and Huntington Bancshares 3.55 percent, to $3.80. Bank of America, however, rose 1.65 percent, to $16.03, after it said that its integration with Merrill Lynch would generate more savings than expected. American Express rose 1.6 percent, to $39.68, on reports that worldwide credit card spending had increased by 3 percent in October &<51; a sign that consumers might be more optimistic about spending.

The dollar, which has lost 16 percent of its value since March, continued to trade near $1.50 against the euro and fell against other currencies as well. While the dollar is considered a safe-haven investment, low interest rates have kept its yield down, and in response investors have thrown their money to Wall Street in search of higher returns. The price of gold, which in recent weeks has hit record highs nearly every day, climbed slightly, to $1,105.60 an ounce.

Even as the stock market continues an eight-month rally, there are concerns over the speed of a recovery. On Tuesday, the presidents of the Federal Reserve banks in San Francisco and Atlanta suggested that unemployment, which hit a 26-year high in October, could continue to remain high for several years. Janet Yellen, president of the Federal Reserve in San Francisco, said growth was sustainable but that it would not happen fast enough to bring down unemployment anytime soon.

&S220;High unemployment, weak job growth and paltry wage increases are a recipe for sluggish consumer spending growth and a tepid recovery,&S221; Ms no fax payday loans. Yellen told a real estate group in Phoenix.

Also on Tuesday, Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, who heads the Senate banking committee, released a proposal to overhaul the financial system. He called for establishing an agency to protect consumers and for giving the government more authority to break up companies that pose a threat to the stability of the system.

Oil prices settled down 38 cents, at $79.05 a barrel, as a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico began to subside.

Investors expect earnings reports from major retailers later this week, including Macy&S217;s, Wal-Mart and J. C. Penney. As the holiday season approaches, those results will give a snapshot of the state of consumer spending, which makes up about 70 percent of the United States economy.

Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist for ChannelCapitalResearch.com, said investors were ignoring signs that consumer spending might be weak in the coming months, given cost-cutting by companies and a steady rise in the unemployment rate.

&S220;Nobody wants to fight the rally,&S221; he said. &S220;The market is showing a natural pullback at this point, and we will probably see a consolidation phase for awhile.&S221;

In London, shares of HSBC were about 4 percent higher after the bank said its profit in the quarter ended in September was &S220;significantly ahead&S221; of a year earlier. Shares of a rival, Barclays, were down 5.1 percent after profit declined 54 percent. And the Lloyds Banking Group&S217;s shares dropped slightly after the bank announced plans to lay off an additional 5,000 workers.

Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics in Ohio, said Wall Street would probably continue to inch upward, with occasional downturns, as investors gunned for a strong finish to 2009.

&S220;There&S217;s a lot of money on the sidelines that has missed out on stocks being up,&S221; Mr. Mayland said. &S220;And time to the year-end is getting short.&S221;

The Treasury&S217;s 10-year note rose 4/32, to 101 8/32. The yield fell to 3.47 percent from 3.49 percent on Monday.

Following are the results of Tuesday&S217;s Treasury auction of four-week bills and 10-year notes:

Wall St. Takes a Breather And Shares Close Flat

Hot News: Possible Property Bubble Has Singapore Officials Worried

HONG KONG &S212; Asian stock markets fell on Thursday as worries about the global economic recovery had investors eagerly awaiting the U.S. monthly jobs report that is due on Friday.

The Nikkei 225 stock average in Tokyo lost 1.2 percent with Canon and other exporters slipping as investors, prompted by a slightly stronger yen, locked in profits before the release of U.S. jobs data.

But Nissan Motor rose 1.1 percent after the automaker revised its annual outlook to a profit from a loss on Wednesday as soaring sales in China helped drive quarterly earnings beyond market expectations.

The benchmark Nikkei lost 113.63 points to 9,730.68 in late morning trading and appeared headed for its lowest close in a month. The broader Topix shed 0.7 percent to 874.78.

As expected, the Federal Reserve reiterated its intent to keep U.S. interest rates low on Wednesday. Though Wall Street rallied in response, it soon lost steam, with investors turning their eyes to jobs data to be published Friday.

&S220;A lot of investors are likely to be stay on the sidelines ahead of the jobs data, given that the September figures were worse than expected, and this is likely to keep stocks weak until then,&S221; said Nagayuki Yamagishi, a strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.

Seoul shares turned lower after a brief rebound the day before, weighed down by caution over the pace of an economic recovery and as the firmer won hammered exporters like LG Electronics.

Investors are on the lookout for fresh economic data to restore confidence in stocks as they awaited the U.S. monthly jobs data and the Bank of Korea&S217;s monthly rate-setting meeting next week online pay day loans.

&S220;Investors are looking at the first batch of fourth-quarter indicators now that we are unsure about whether markets will remain solid in November or not,&S221; said Kim Seung-han, a market analyst at HI Investment & Securities.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 1.1 percent to 1,563.07 points.

Shares in LG Electronics, the maker of mobile phones and flat-screen TVs, dropped 2.3 percent. Samsung Electronics shed 1.6 percent, after it told the Korea Exchange that it would make a $1.3 billion down payment to Qualcomm under a new licensing agreement.

Australian shares extended losses to be 0.5 percent lower on Thursday, with banks and miners mixed amid a market consolidation after strong gains between March and October.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 20.8 points to 4,519.3.

Major sectors like banks and miners saw mixed fortunes as the market continues its broad consolidation after posting strong gains between March and October.

Hong Kong stocks fell 0.4 percent, tracking losses in other Asian markets, although the Chinese property developer Evergrande Real Estate rose in its trading debut. Evergrande traded at 4 Hong Kong dollars versus its IPO price 3.50 dollars.

Shanghai stock markets rose 0.3 percent. The Taiex in Taipei edged up 0.07 percent amid concerns over shrinking trade volumes, but computer memory chip makers like Nanya Tech surged on positive October sales and an upbeat fourth-quarter outlook.

Reuters

Stock Markets Drop in Asia

LONDON (AFP) – Britain&&9;s government is to create three new high street banks from bailed out lenders Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group and Northern Rock, according to media reports.

The huge shake-up comes as the government seeks to recoup taxpayers&&9; cash used to prop up the banks during the world financial crisis and increase competition.

Lloyds is 43 percent owned by the state and RBS 70 percent, while Northern Rock was nationalised outright.

The government could confirm the move, to come in by 2015, on Tuesday, reports said.

The new banks would be retail-focused, concentrating on deposits and mortagages.

RBS and Lloyds are also reportedly set to sell off some parts of their businesses, including around 300 branches for RBS low rate payday loans.

EU regulators last week approved the state aid contained in plans to break up and sell Northern Rock.

All three banks received huge government bailouts at the height of the global economic storm but regulatory authorities are concerned about such state-backed banks having an unfair advantage over those that were not helped.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that no current owner of a British retail bank would be allowed to take on the new institutions so buyers could come from the US, Australia and the Middle East.

Britain to create three new retail banks: reports

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department is in talks with GMAC Financial Services Inc about a possible additional cash infusion to the company, an Obama administration official confirmed on Tuesday night.

The official declined to say how much additional money was under discussion for GMAC, which already has received &&6;12.5 billion of taxpayer funds high risk personal loans.

GMAC is the traditional lender to General Motors Co and is taking over the auto loan business of Chrysler.

(Reporting by Glenn Somerville; Editing by Eric Walsh and Carol Bishopric)

Treasury talks to GMAC about more cash

LONDON (AFP) – London stocks ended down on Tuesday as news of a 0.6 percent fall in wholesale prices across the Atlantic shook the market.

The FTSE 100 index dropped 0.72 percent to 5,243.40 points.

Barclays was the most traded stock with traders exchanging 168 million shares, followed by Royal Bank of Scotland which saw 164 million units switch hands.

Retailer Sainsbury was the session&&9;s star performer gaining 17.7 pence -- or 5.36 percent -- to finish at 347.8.

Pearson added 36.5 pence -- or 4.44 percent -- to stand at 858 american family insurance.5.

The top casualties were Autonomy Corp, falling 138 pence -- or 8.65 percent -- to finish at 1457. Barclays was down 18.3 pence -- or 4.79 percent -- to end at 363.75.

Sterling gained ground against both the euro and the dollar.

At 15:58, sterling was trading at $1.6427, up from $1.6423 at Monday&&9;s close. The pound climbed against the euro, rising to 1.1003, up from 1.0959 over the same period.

FTSE 100 down