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As the nation's largest financial institutions scramble to pay back their bailout money, some regional banks may be on the government dole until at least 2011. Lending for offices, malls, hotels, and similar properties averages more than a third of loans at 35 of the biggest regional players with federal funds, according to an analysis by Bloomberg BusinessWeek . By comparison, such debt averages 9.5% of loans at Citigroup and Wells Fargo. And with defaults at a 16-year high and rising, the worst may be yet to come.
Until the regional banks are on better financial footing, the government likely will have a say in their affairs. When considering whether to let banks repay the bailout funds, the U.S. is looking at profits and capital, among other things. Big banks, which have more revenue streams, may have an edge. If Citigroup and Wells Fargo join JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America in returning their bailout funds, they'll be free to press their advantage in markets they already dominate, such as consumer lending. Regional firms with federal aid may also look less attractive to investors, since those banks won't be able to declare dividends or stock repurchases without seeking the feds' approval.

Delegates converged Sunday for the grand finale of two years of tough, sometimes bitter negotiations on a climate change treaty, as U.N. officials calculated that pledges offered in the last few weeks to reduce greenhouse gases put the world within reach of keeping global warming under control.
The U.N.'s top climate official, said on the eve of the 192-nation conference that despite unprecedented unity and concessions, industrial countries and emerging nations need to dig deeper. Finance -- billions of dollars immediately and hundreds of billions of dollars annually within a decade -- was emerging as the key to unblocking an agreement that would bind the global community to a sweeping plan to combat climate change. "Time is up," said Yvo de Boer, the top U.N. climate official.
South Africa on Sunday became the latest country to announce an emissions target. It said over the next 10 years it would reduce emissions by 34 percent from "business as usual," the level they would reach under ordinary circumstances. By 2025 that figure would peak at 42 percent, effectively leveling off and thereafter begin to decline.

When the delegates at the climate summit in Copenhagen need to call home, they can do so in style. Cisco Systems is outfitting four rooms in the city's Bella convention center with a giant-screen teleconferencing system, enabling officials to confer face to face with counterparts in 100 places around the world. The donation is not entirely altruistic. It's a demonstration of how Cisco's products can substitute for business travel, slashing carbon emissions. Technologies such as these "have the power to transform how the world manages its energy and environmental challenges," says Laura Ipsen, Cisco's senior vice-president for global policy.
Most of the attention at the climate meeting, which starts on Dec. 7, will be focused on government negotiations. With President Barack Obama pledging that the U.S. will cut its greenhouse gas output 17% by 2020 and China agreeing to improve its energy efficiency, the summit is now expected to make progress toward global limits on emissions. Cisco's presence, however, illustrates a powerful subtext for the summit: Putting the world on a greener path can be good for business.

After nine months of favorable market conditions, equity investors face a further month before they can declare victory in 2009. The flip of the calendar may be arbitrary, but the full year is the standard by which mutual funds, hedge funds, and other stock investors are judged on their performance.
Investors could be forgiven for wishing that 2009 would end placidly and profitably. But there's one thing that the past couple of years have taught us about the market: Expect the unexpected. Dubai's debt troubles, which came to a head on Nov. 25, when the emirate's investing arm said it was seeking to delay payments on $59 billion in debt, disrupted a growing confidence among investors. Until the news broke over the Thanksgiving holiday, it looked as if markets might glide easily toward the new year.

Government has thrown a lot at the unemployment problem already, from near zero interest rates to a $787 billion fiscal stimulus, with limited success. Here are some of the other ideas in circulation. Some economists estimate that temporarily cutting Social Security payroll taxes roughly in half would increase employment by 3 million to 4 million workers by making it cheaper for employers to add staff. But such a cut would worsen Social Security's long-run financing problems. And if sales are weak, employers still might not add jobs.  Conservative economists say the free market will create jobs soon enough if trade were expanded and distortions such as costly regulation, too-high minimum wages, and extended unemployment benefits that discourage job-seeking were ended. Trouble is, with demand so soft, it's not clear such steps would increase employment.

China, soon to become the world's second-largest economy, has also become increasingly outspoken in criticizing the U.S. for what it calls trade protectionism. Indeed, even as Obama was arriving in Beijing from Shanghai, China's commerce ministry was taking the U.S. to task for backsliding on economic openness. "We've always known the U.S. and the West as free-market economies. But now we're seeing a protectionist side," said Commerce Ministry spokesman Yao Jian, citing 10 separate trade actions, including those against steel pipes and auto tires, that Washington has taken against Beijing this year. Yao also criticized continuing U.S. restrictions on high-tech exports to China.
Hu raised the issue in his joint appearance with Obama. "Our two countries need to oppose and reject protectionism in all its manifestations," the Chinese president said.

For Citibank credit card holders, there is one way to escape the bank's rate hikes currently under way: Meet a monthly spending requirement.
Those who meet the spending minimum -- in some cases $750 a month -- will be able to get a rebate on their total interest charges for that month. The rebate could cover some or all of the interest rate hike. Customers also need to make payments on time to qualify for the rebate.
Without giving specifics, Citi said the monthly spending requirements and interest rate hikes will vary depending on the cardholder's credit history. About half of its customers will be able to erase 50 percent to 100 percent of their rate increases through the rebates. Citi said its rebates will be based on interest charges for an entire balance, not just monthly charges.

U.S secretary of state Hilary Clinton vowed Thursday to continue American military support for the Philippines's efforts to root out insurgents, despite calls from some Filipino nationalists for the Philippine government to renegotiate the terms of the legal framework enabling U.S troops to operate there.
The U.S in recent months has launched an effort to engage with Myanmar's reclusive leaders to persuade them to allow greater political freedoms. Washionton, along with the European union, also imposes strict economic sanctions on the country to encourage reform, and Mrs. Cliton has said the U.S needs to see a concrete commitment to democratic reforms in Myanmar before it can re-think its sanctions policy. The leaders of Southeast Asian countries, including Myanmar, are scheduled to meet with Mr. Obama this weekend on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific economic cooperation forum in Singapore.

With every uptick in the unemployment rate, Congress and the Obama Administration face more pressure to bolster job growth. They are also under constant criticism for the high level of federal spending and rising federal budget deficit—especially from Republicans, but also from Democrats in conservative districts. The question from here will be how to balance those competing political pressures, especially in the runup to the 2010 midterm elections.
On Nov. 2, the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board recommended ways to boost job creation but stopped short of detailing how its suggestions might be executed or how much they would cost. It proposed sharply increasing export sales as a percentage of GDP, creating a national infrastructure bank, and boosting the number of workers who help make buildings more energy-efficient. Other ideas were smaller-scale, including expanding the role of the U.S. Export-Import Bank that helps companies finance overseas trade agreements.

U.S. retailers are expected to post positive October sales results this week, but investors hoping for a clear signal on economic recovery could be in for disappointment, industry experts said. Many top retail chains will report same-store sales results on Thursday, with the overall industry expected to post a 1.2 percent rise, according to Thomson Reuters data.
That compares with a 4.1 percent fall in October 2008, just weeks into a global financial markets collapse. If the expected increase materializes, it will raise hopes that consumers are prepared to spend more during the crucial holiday season.
But high expectations mean any disappointment in sales results could fuel a retreat by investors on stocks that have risen in recent weeks, fueled by pockets of good news from a variety of retailers from J Crew Group Inc to TJX Companies Inc. If expectations are too high, even if the absolute number shows sequential improvements, the stocks will sell off.