Financial news on December 6th, 2013

Business and Financial news
Bank of England Keeps Interest Rate at Record Low

Britain’s central bank held its benchmark rate at 0.5 percent and voted to maintain its program of economic stimulus at 375 billion pounds. Read more..

By JULIA WERDIGIER - The New York Times

China Restricts Banks’ Use of Bitcoin

China moved on Thursday to restrict its banks from using the virtual currency, citing concerns about money laundering and a threat to financial stability. Read more..

By GERRY MULLANY - The New York Times

Faster Pace of Growth May Not Last Long

Commerce Department revises nation's estimated third-quarter gross domestic product to 3.6 percent from 2.8 percent; economists respond to better-than-expected data by cutting their estimates for fourth-quarter growth. Read more..

By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ - The New York Times

Ford Wants to Take Next Mustang to New Places

Ford unveiled its new Mustang on Thursday morning, but unlike the pony car released in 1964, this one will be sold globally. Read more..

By BENJAMIN PRESTON - The New York Times

Gauging Android Variants Among Cellphones, and Changing Windows 8 Defaults

Google’s own Nexus line is the least customized; many other phones vary widely. Plus, how to change default programs in Windows 8. Read more..

By J. D. BIERSDORFER - The New York Times

Genetic Tester to Stop Providing Data on Health Risks

As it works to gain F.D.A. approval for its product, the genetic testing service 23andMe said it would release only ancestry information and raw data. Read more..

By ANDREW POLLACK - The New York Times

Grammys Go Live in One Real-Time Show to Promote Another

Advertising column notes that CBS will broadcast live show that will announce the nominees for the 56th annual Grammy Awards, while introducing ad campaign meant to attract more viewers to the award show. Read more..

By STUART ELLIOTT - The New York Times

House Bill Raises Bar for Suits Over Patents

House overwhelmingly passes bill protecting technology companies and their customers from nuisance patent-infringement lawsuits by shell companies that exist merely to gather dormant patents and threaten lawsuits against suspected violators. Read more..

By EDWARD WYATT - The New York Times

On the World’s Roads, More American Wheels

Resurgence of American auto industry, fueled primarily by pent-up domestic demand, has also been spurred on by rising exports of vehicles to international markets; annual exports of American-made vehicles increased by nearly 80 percent from 2009 through 2012. Read more..

By BILL VLASIC - The New York Times

Stock Markets

Values are reported in US Dollars

StockTicker symbolOpenHighLowCloseVolume
IntelINTC24.9725.2524.7524.8253.9M
Cisco SystemsCSCO21.1221.3221.0721.2851.3M
FacebookFB48.9849.3947.7147.9442.9M
General MotorsGM39.9940.3839.6040.1737.9M
MicrosoftMSFT38.4238.5537.9938.3636.5M
General ElectricGE26.7726.9826.6826.9425.3M
AT&T Inc.T34.5334.5834.3034.5319.5M
PfizerPFE31.5531.6131.3331.5418.9M
JPMorgan ChaseJPM56.5756.7655.6256.0618.7M
HP Inc.HPQ27.6128.1127.5927.7017.2M
Wells Fargo & Co.WFC43.6744.1943.4344.1116.9M
Oracle Corp.ORCL35.1535.5135.1035.4816M
Coca-ColaKO40.0540.5040.0540.4612.6M
AppleAAPL565.79566.75559.57560.0212.3M
ExxonMobilXOM94.9795.7194.5995.6512.1M
Gilead SciencesGILD74.0674.1373.0873.9911.6M
Verizon CommunicationsVZ49.2549.6048.9549.4811.2M
ComcastCMCSA49.4949.6148.8949.2710.9M
Bristol-Myers SquibbBMY51.2051.3150.2250.688.42M
MerckMRK49.1349.5748.9649.397.4M
Johnson & JohnsonJNJ93.6094.4893.4294.447.28M
Procter & GamblePG83.2384.5383.1784.527.19M
AltriaMO37.2237.4637.1837.466.72M
SchlumbergerSLB88.1088.5387.7788.156.1M
McDonald'sMCD95.9496.9595.9096.805.81M
ConocoPhillipsCOP71.1871.4870.2070.775.56M
Walt Disney & Co.DIS70.9771.4970.7771.465.54M
BoeingBA134.58135.75134.00135.185.34M
Home DepotHD79.0880.0578.8179.845.09M
Wal-Mart StoresWMT79.7180.2379.6479.945.09M
PepsicoPEP82.5283.2582.2483.154.84M
International Business MachinesIBM176.70178.00176.01177.674.74M
ChevronCVX122.05122.36121.65122.294.18M
Abbott LaboratoriesABT37.2737.5437.1737.534.06M
UnitedHealth GroupUNH73.2373.7272.8473.503.89M
Berkshire HathawayBRK.B115.97116.70115.76116.663.26M
AmgenAMGN115.07115.07113.19114.123.24M
3MMMM128.19128.80127.85128.612.89M
AlphabetGOOGL1069.791070.001060.081069.872.85M
United TechnologiesUTX110.24111.20110.07111.122.46M
VisaV203.70203.84201.00201.872.28M
AmazonAMZN388.35388.35383.83386.951.98M
Union PacificUNP163.90165.14163.08164.341.73M
Exchange Rates of December 6th, 2013
CurrenciesExchange Rates
US DollarJapanese Yen1 USD = 102.900 JPY1 JPY = 0.010 USD
US DollarCanadian Dollar1 USD = 1.063 CAD1 CAD = 0.940 USD
US DollarSwiss Franc1 USD = 0.892 CHF1 CHF = 1.121 USD
US DollarChinese Yuan1 USD = 6.082 CNY1 CNY = 0.164 USD
EuroJapanese Yen1 EUR = 140.980 JPY1 JPY = 0.007 EUR
EuroPound Sterling1 EUR = 0.838 GBP1 GBP = 1.193 EUR
EuroAustralian Dollar1 EUR = 1.506 AUD1 AUD = 0.664 EUR
EuroCanadian Dollar1 EUR = 1.457 CAD1 CAD = 0.686 EUR
EuroSwiss Franc1 EUR = 1.222 CHF1 CHF = 0.818 EUR
EuroChinese Yuan1 EUR = 8.334 CNY1 CNY = 0.120 EUR
Japanese YenPound Sterling1 JPY = 0.594 GBP1 GBP = 1.683 JPY
Japanese YenAustralian Dollar1 JPY = 1.067 AUD1 AUD = 0.937 JPY
Japanese YenCanadian Dollar1 JPY = 1.033 CAD1 CAD = 0.968 JPY
Japanese YenSwiss Franc1 JPY = 0.867 CHF1 CHF = 1.154 JPY
Pound SterlingAustralian Dollar1 GBP = 1.795 AUD1 AUD = 0.557 GBP
Pound SterlingCanadian Dollar1 GBP = 1.739 CAD1 CAD = 0.575 GBP
Pound SterlingSwiss Franc1 GBP = 1.458 CHF1 CHF = 0.686 GBP
Pound SterlingChinese Yuan1 GBP = 9.942 CNY1 CNY = 0.101 GBP
Australian DollarCanadian Dollar1 AUD = 0.968 CAD1 CAD = 1.033 AUD
Australian DollarSwiss Franc1 AUD = 0.812 CHF1 CHF = 1.232 AUD
Australian DollarChinese Yuan1 AUD = 5.537 CNY1 CNY = 0.181 AUD
Canadian DollarSwiss Franc1 CAD = 0.838 CHF1 CHF = 1.193 CAD
Canadian DollarChinese Yuan1 CAD = 5.719 CNY1 CNY = 0.175 CAD
Swiss FrancChinese Yuan1 CHF = 6.817 CNY1 CNY = 0.147 CHF

See what else happened on December 6th, 2013