BUSINESS

Shaky Europe. Political gridlock. Volatile markets.

SANTIAGO, Jan 2 - Chile state copper giant Codelco on Monday said it had exercised a $6 billion option to buy mining assets in southern Chile, but global miner Anglo American defied the move, setting the stage for a lengthy legal battle.

Global miner Anglo American said on Monday it was not obliged to sell any of its shares in its southern Chilean properties to state copper giant Codelco, as a battle over a disputed option contract deepened.

American shareholders are suing Britain's Lloyds Banking Group and the bank's former executives, saying they were misled over its rescue of fellow lender HBOS in the depths of the financial crisis in 2008.

European stocks ended higher in their first trading session of the year on Monday, led by defensive utilities such as E.ON and GDF Suez , while volumes were anaemic as UK and U.S. markets remained closed for the New Year holiday.

European shares made a positive start to the New Year as they extended a two-week rebound in thin trade on Monday, with automotive stocks and euro zone banks leading the charge.

Global manufacturing activity was subdued going into 2012, with the euro zone's industrial sector suffering its fifth straight month of declines in December and Asian factories mostly stuck in a rut.

The roller-coaster ride for Asian currencies, which saw only the yen and yuan post significant gains for the year against the U.S. dollar, is set to continue in 2012.

Asian factory output remained weak in December, with Chinese manufacturers narrowly avoiding contraction and South Korea's industrial production shrinking the most in almost three years, while Europe data this week is expected to point to a recession.

European shares inched higher on Monday with trading light due to British markets being shut and gains expected to be limited as worries about the euro zone debt crisis remained.

European shares edged higher on Monday after making their biggest annual fall since 2008, with trading light due to British markets being shut for a bank holiday and defensive safe haven stocks the main performers on the index.

European shares were set to fall on Monday in the first trading day of the year after making their biggest yearly fall since 2008, as global growth worries hit investor sentiment with Chinese purchasing managers' index data suggesting factories in the world's second largest economy were struggling.

South Korea's manufacturing sector shrank the most in nearly three years in December as global demand cooled, a survey showed on Monday, but President Lee Myung-bak cited inflation as a bigger risk in a year of big elections.

India will allow individual foreign investors direct access to its stock market from January 15, the government said on Sunday, the latest step to liberalize Asia's third-largest economy after a year of big losses on the benchmark Sensex index.

It's up to the consumer to drive the U.S. economy and lift world growth in 2012, and the outlook is far from encouraging.

The United States will remain the top choice of most global commercial real estate investors in 2012, but the country has lost ground to Brazil which ranked No. 2 this year, according to a survey released Sunday.

China's big manufacturers narrowly avoided a contraction in December a survey showed on Sunday, but downward risks persist and suggest the world's second's second-largest economy will need fresh policy support to counter a slowdown in growth.

Happy New Year! 2012 is almost upon us and we can only hope it will be as interesting and eventful as was 2011. There were several major events that happened in news, entertainment and technology throughout 2011. The U.S. captured and killed Osama Bin Laden, the iPhone 4S was released, Apple Inc. lost its CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs and the Iraq War ended.

The euro could become the world's leading currency in the next decade if leaders of the single-currency bloc succeed in tightening fiscal integration, European Central Bank policymaker Christian Noyer said in an article to be published in the Journal du Dimanche.

Switzerland and the United States need more time to negotiate a tax deal, Swiss finance minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf told Swiss radio on Saturday, as the United States pushes for it to supply information on bank clients who are alleged to have evaded taxes.

China's central bank governor argued in comments published on Saturday that Beijing does not control the yuan's flow across borders as tightly as some think and that it is natural for the currency's trading band to be widened over time.

Brazilian planemaker Embraer will sell its A-29 Super Tucano aircraft to the U.S. Air Force, in a firm-fixed price delivery order contract worth $355 million, the company said in a statement late on Friday.

Hackers affiliated with the Anonymous group published hundreds of thousands of email addresses belonging to subscribers of private intelligence analysis firm Strategic Forecasting Inc along with thousands of customer credit card numbers.

Verizon Wireless has reversed its decision to charge a $2 fee for telephone and online bill payments, bowing to a storm of criticism from consumers and the U.S. communications regulator.

Europe must cooperate more closely if it wants the euro to succeed as its shared currency, and it still has a long way to go to overcome its sovereign debt crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in her New Year's Eve address.

Whirlpool Corp on Friday accused two South Korean rivals, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics , of dumping washing machines in the United States by selling them at substantially less than fair value.

This year there were several legal cases that tugged on the heart strings of America and those outside the nation. There was public outcry when Casey Anthony was acquitted of the murder of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. Don't forget the Jerry Sandusky-Penn State scandal and disgraced public figures such as Rod Blagojevich and Dominque Strauss-Kahn.

Verizon Wireless has reversed its decision to charge a $2 fee for one-time telephone and online bill payments bowing to a storm of criticism from consumers and the U.S. communications regulator.