CRUDE: The New York oil price settled at US$55.42 a barrel as dealers fretted about compliance with the cartel's prodcution cuts and cold weather in the northeastern US
Oil prices rose more than US$1 to settle above US$55 a barrel on Friday on concerns that producers were complying with OPEC's production cuts and on expectations of continued blustery weather in the northeastern US.

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Wall Street's mood has shifted from confident to cautious as the market digests the latest round of corporate earnings and awaits another day of judgment from the Federal Reserve.

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HEAVY LOSSES: While diminishing expectations of a Fed interest rate cut eroded last year's gains, dealers said there was still considerable liquidity looking for a home
Asian stocks closed sharply lower on Friday after heavy losses on Wall Street overnight as the latest US housing sales figures undercut hopes for an early interest rate cut, dealers said.

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European stock exchanges wilted on Friday, dragged down by profit-taking and in line with a sluggish start to the day on Wall Street.

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The US dollar gained ground on Friday in the wake of robust US economic news as durable goods orders remained robust and as new home sales rose more than had been expected last month.

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BUSINESS SUMMIT: Failure to complete the WTO's Doha round of trade talks would have grave consequences for the global economy, delegates to the forum warned
Trade ministers from 23 countries and the EU met on the final day of the Davos forum yesterday in a bid to breathe fresh life into stalled global trade negotiations.

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Japan's financial watchdog is preparing to order the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ to suspend new-loan activities in the western Osaka region due to its connection with an embezzler, a report said yesterday.

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US financial giant Citibank NA plans to set up a financial holding company in Japan as early as July, making it the first foreign financial institution to do so, a news report said yesterday.

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RIVALRY: Officials from the UK exchange refuse to meet their US counterparts and the two bourses have been exchanging hostile, taunting news releases
NASDAQ said on Friday that it did not plan to raise its offer for the London Stock Exchange (LSE) just before a deadline to do so, putting a damper on investors' expectations.

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EMPLOYMENT: More people are looking for new jobs this month than in January last year amid lower annual bonuses and the Rebar Group crisis, the company said
Approximately 200,000 people are looking for jobs this month through 104 Job Bank -- the country's leading online employment service provider, up 34.5 percent compared with the same month last year, company officials said yesterday.

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Japanese electronics maker Hitachi Ltd has agreed to pay US$400,000 a year to feature Moanalua Gardens' giant monkeypod tree in its advertisements and corporate literature over the next decade.

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Internet search giant Google said on Friday that it had begun combining online books with its mapping software to guide readers to places described in print.

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■ Investment
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