Financial news on December 17th, 2009

Business and Financial news
An App That Helps You Find Your Way Is a Great Find

Consumers who do their homework can avoid buying a navigation system that fails to meet their needs. Read more..

By BOB TEDESCHI - The New York Times

App of the Week: Google’s Eyes on the Ground

Google Goggles uses a smartphone’s camera to identify what it sees and return a stream of information. Read more..

By ROY FURCHGOTT - The New York Times

Bank Picks a Successor to Lewis

Bank of America named one of its top managers, Brian Moynihan, as its chief executive, succeeding Kenneth D. Lewis, who plans to leave by the end of the year. Read more..

By ERIC DASH and LOUISE STORY - The New York Times

Europe Drops Microsoft Antitrust Case

The agreement ended a decade of legal strife that cost the world’s top maker of software 1.67 billion euros in fines and penalties and forced it to alter the way it did business in Europe. Read more..

By KEVIN J. O'BRIEN - The New York Times

Government Reconsiders Quick Sale of Citigroup Stake

Two days after Citigroup moved to untangle itself from Washington, the Treasury backed away from plans to immediately sell a portion of its stake in the bank, according to a person briefed on the situation. Read more..

By ERIC DASH - The New York Times

I.R.S. Ruling Could Be a Boon for GMAC

The decision could save billions for companies in which the government took an ownership stake as a condition of a bailout. Read more..

By LYNNLEY BROWNING - The New York Times

Mobile Phones Become Essential Tool for Holiday Shopping

Using powerful software applications on their smartphones, consumers can search for bargains across a range of retailers. Read more..

By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER - The New York Times

Panel Backs Bernanke for Second Term

The 16-to-7 Senate vote, which came after a debate that saw flashes of the populist anger that has erupted amid a sluggish recovery, was not unexpected. Read more..

By BRIAN KNOWLTON and JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ - The New York Times

Swiss Report First Appeals Filed in UBS Tax Case

Switzerland has received two appeals in the UBS tax case, a judicial official said, just weeks after 500 Americans were notified that their data was to be sent to the U.S. Justice Department. Read more..

By DAVID JOLLY - International Herald Tribune

U.S. Reports Upturn in Home Building

The figures offer some hope that construction will continue a slow and steady revival that will spread through the broader economy. Read more..

By JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ - The New York Times

Stock Markets

Values are reported in US Dollars

StockTicker symbolOpenHighLowCloseVolume
Wells Fargo & Co.WFC25.6426.1825.6226.0780.7M
General ElectricGE15.5915.9515.5515.7968.3M
IntelINTC19.2419.2919.0719.0752.3M
Bristol-Myers SquibbBMY25.8125.9425.6225.7750.6M
ExxonMobilXOM68.3668.8668.1368.2246.6M
PfizerPFE18.3818.3818.0618.2244.3M
JPMorgan ChaseJPM41.0641.1240.1940.2744.3M
MicrosoftMSFT29.9529.9629.5729.6043.7M
Oracle Corp.ORCL23.0723.1922.7722.8836M
Cisco SystemsCSCO23.4623.4723.1423.1833.4M
AT&T Inc.T27.3427.4527.1127.2226.6M
ComcastCMCSA17.3317.3316.9217.1122M
MerckMRK37.7537.8537.2637.2818.5M
Verizon CommunicationsVZ32.7933.0932.3632.8117.9M
Wal-Mart StoresWMT53.1053.2052.3652.7615.6M
UnitedHealth GroupUNH32.0932.3331.3131.8214.8M
Walt Disney & Co.DIS32.1732.2931.6531.9314.6M
HP Inc.HPQ50.9451.0950.2650.5614M
AppleAAPL194.26195.00191.00191.8613.9M
AltriaMO19.5819.6719.5119.5912.8M
Coca-ColaKO58.2658.2756.9456.9812.7M
ConocoPhillipsCOP50.5450.8250.1550.2111.6M
Home DepotHD28.8529.1228.7728.8011.5M
Abbott LaboratoriesABT53.7653.8353.1653.5811.3M
Procter & GamblePG62.0062.1261.5461.5911M
Gilead SciencesGILD43.0643.4542.7243.2011M
Johnson & JohnsonJNJ64.4464.7864.2164.4710.1M
VisaV86.4987.4085.5087.039.56M
ChevronCVX77.4977.5576.7176.789M
AmazonAMZN129.36130.08126.90126.918.48M
PepsicoPEP60.6460.6460.0460.048.34M
AmgenAMGN55.0455.0454.1254.586.13M
SchlumbergerSLB63.0663.4962.4062.575.98M
International Business MachinesIBM128.00128.56127.12127.405.91M
BoeingBA54.9055.4054.4154.475.82M
McDonald'sMCD62.2462.4861.9261.925.42M
AlphabetGOOGL596.44597.64593.76593.945.27M
3MMMM81.3981.4880.3480.473.84M
Union PacificUNP64.1564.2162.9363.313.78M
United TechnologiesUTX70.0670.1269.4669.583.72M
Berkshire HathawayBRK.B3309.003309.003276.003288.5030.9K
Exchange Rates of December 17th, 2009
CurrenciesExchange Rates
US DollarJapanese Yen1 USD = 89.940 JPY1 JPY = 0.011 USD
US DollarCanadian Dollar1 USD = 1.071 CAD1 CAD = 0.934 USD
US DollarSwiss Franc1 USD = 1.047 CHF1 CHF = 0.955 USD
US DollarChinese Yuan1 USD = 6.830 CNY1 CNY = 0.146 USD
EuroJapanese Yen1 EUR = 128.980 JPY1 JPY = 0.008 EUR
EuroPound Sterling1 EUR = 0.888 GBP1 GBP = 1.127 EUR
EuroAustralian Dollar1 EUR = 1.617 AUD1 AUD = 0.619 EUR
EuroCanadian Dollar1 EUR = 1.535 CAD1 CAD = 0.651 EUR
EuroSwiss Franc1 EUR = 1.502 CHF1 CHF = 0.666 EUR
EuroChinese Yuan1 EUR = 9.792 CNY1 CNY = 0.102 EUR
Japanese YenPound Sterling1 JPY = 0.688 GBP1 GBP = 1.454 JPY
Japanese YenAustralian Dollar1 JPY = 1.253 AUD1 AUD = 0.798 JPY
Japanese YenCanadian Dollar1 JPY = 1.190 CAD1 CAD = 0.840 JPY
Japanese YenSwiss Franc1 JPY = 1.164 CHF1 CHF = 0.859 JPY
Pound SterlingAustralian Dollar1 GBP = 1.821 AUD1 AUD = 0.549 GBP
Pound SterlingCanadian Dollar1 GBP = 1.729 CAD1 CAD = 0.578 GBP
Pound SterlingSwiss Franc1 GBP = 1.692 CHF1 CHF = 0.591 GBP
Pound SterlingChinese Yuan1 GBP = 11.024 CNY1 CNY = 0.091 GBP
Australian DollarCanadian Dollar1 AUD = 0.949 CAD1 CAD = 1.053 AUD
Australian DollarSwiss Franc1 AUD = 0.929 CHF1 CHF = 1.077 AUD
Australian DollarChinese Yuan1 AUD = 6.059 CNY1 CNY = 0.165 AUD
Canadian DollarSwiss Franc1 CAD = 0.978 CHF1 CHF = 1.023 CAD
Canadian DollarChinese Yuan1 CAD = 6.374 CNY1 CNY = 0.157 CAD
Swiss FrancChinese Yuan1 CHF = 6.522 CNY1 CNY = 0.153 CHF

See what else happened on December 17th, 2009