KNOWLEDGE IS POWER: While the Internet's No. 2 powerhouse is fine-tuning its proposed encyclopedia, Jimmy Wales is almost ready to launch a Wiki search engine
Google Inc is working on a new Internet encyclopedia that will consist of material submitted by people who want to be identified as experts and possibly profit from their knowledge.

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Panama will take bids from four international consortiums seeking to build new, larger ship locks for the Panama Canal, government officials said on Friday.

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MORE WORK NEEDED: The decision to add SIVs to its balance sheet has pleased Wall Street, but concerns remain for its CSOs and the company's dividend is still in doubt
It was a big week for Citigroup last week: the bank named a new CEO and then, in an about-face, took control of the seven troubled funds it used to manage at arm's length.

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Nissan Motor Co and Chrysler LLC are in talks to supply each other with vehicles as they seek to expand their market share in North America amid tightening competition, a Japanese daily reported yesterday.

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IBM Corp's expansion in developing countries shows no sign of relenting. The technology company revealed on Friday that it now has 73,000 employees in India, almost a 40 percent leap from last year.

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Taiwan's purchasing power parity (PPP)-converted per capita GDP amounted to US$28,552 in 2005, ranking it 21st in the world, government officials said on Friday.

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CHANGE OF HEART: Analysts questioned predictions of higher demand growth next year by the IEA and OPEC, given recent signs that demand growth is falling
Oil prices fell on Friday after the US government reported that consumer inflation jumped last month by the largest amount in more than two years, raising worries that demand could suffer.

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Stocks were sold off on Friday after a jump in inflation raised concerns about how much freedom the Federal Reserve has to continue cutting interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost more than 178 points.

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The dollar rose sharply on Friday as a larger than expected spike in US inflation suggested the US Federal Reserve may not find it so easy to continue cutting interest rates.

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PRESSING AHEAD: Media shares paced the advance after last month proved to be the most profitable trading month in the past five years
European stocks rose on Friday as investors snapped up some bargains and maintained a positive take on the prospects for markets next year.

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JAPAN JITTERS: With no major market-moving news expected this week, traders believe the Nikkei is likely to be volatile because of a lack of domestic catalysts
Most Asian markets fell on Friday on a mixture of regional factors, from expectations China may raise interest rates soon to signs of growing pessimism among Japanese corporate executives.

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■ BANKING

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