MARKETS / FINANCE

Stock index futures held to losses on Wednesday after a report showed the U.S. private sector shed slightly more jobs than forecast in December.

Stock index futures fell on Wednesday, a day after the S&P 500 closed at a 15-month high, as investors braced for a private report on jobs that is a precursor to the closely watched government non-farm payrolls report due Friday

Shares of Japan Airlines fell nearly 7 percent on Wednesday after a newspaper said the carrier's main creditor and the finance ministry support bankruptcy as a way to restructure the heavily indebted airline.

Stock index futures dipped on Wednesday as investors braced for a private report on jobs that is a precursor to the closely watched government non-farm payrolls report Friday.

At a hearing last fall, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told lawmakers that he and his team were working to put the $700 billion financial bailout fund out of its misery. But some in Washington now see a second, backdoor bailout in its place.

Consumer confidence is strongest in emerging Asia, Brazil and Australia, but weakened slightly in the United States in the fourth quarter as Americans worried about job security, a survey showed on Wednesday.

The European Union would not help bail out Greece if that country's public debt problem continued to worsen, European Central Bank Executive Board member Juergen Stark was reported as saying on Wednesday.

EU officials arrived in Greece on Wednesday for an inspection visit, hours after ECB Executive Board member Juergen Stark was quoted as saying the bloc would not bail out Greece if its debt problem worsened.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.4 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.32 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.28 percent at 5.13 a.m. EST.

The euro took a brief battering on Wednesday on worries the European Union would not rescue fiscally struggling Greece while global stocks ticked over with investors eyeing major U.S. data due later in the week.

Shares of Japan Airlines fell nearly 7 percent on Wednesday after a newspaper said the carrier's main creditor and the finance ministry support bankruptcy as a way to restructure the heavily indebted airline.

The euro fell sharply on Wednesday after an ECB official reportedly said the EU would not rescue Greece, while concern about a big drop in U.S. home sales limited gains in Asian stocks.

John Havens, head of Citigroup Inc's securities business, earned about $9 million in total compensation in 2009, a regulatory filing showed.

China Gold Association said the nation will surpass India as the biggest consumer as the precious metal's allure as a solid, tangible, intrinsically valuable store of wealth seems to be growing further in China. According to CGA, the estimated demand for gold in the country was 450 tons in 2009, up 13.8 percent from 395.6 tons in 2008.

Mark Mobius, Executive Chairman of Templeton Asset Management says commodity stocks are going to be the best performers in 2010. Lots of investors and investment funds are seeing big potential in commodities especially in India and China, Mobius said stressing that Templeton is banking on commodity stocks in the New Year as they gave the best performance in 2009.

Gold edged higher in Asian trade Wednesday despite a relatively strong dollar. Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $1124.42 an ounce at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while U.S. gold futures for February delivery were at $1,123.20 at the same time. Higher rates typically boost the dollar and pressure gold, which is often used as an alternative to the U.S. currency.

The dollar remained weak against the yen early on Wednesday after falling sharply overnight, while Asian stocks managed only modest gains as mixed economic data made investors hesitant about the strength of the U.S. recovery.

Shares of Japan Airlines fell more than 4 percent on Wednesday after the Nikkei business daily reported the Development Bank of Japan and the Ministry of Finance are seeking court-led bankruptcy proceedings.

Indicted Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam faces expanded charges of insider trading and allegations that he earned $36 million in illicit profits, double the amount previously alleged, U.S. prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Global cotton production in 2010/11 is forecast at 24.2 million tons up nearly 10%, according to International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC). The production in China is forecsted at 7.7 mn tonnes in 2010/11, one million tons higher than in the current season. Most of the gain is expected to come from increased area in response to higher domestic prices.

The Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) has recorded 31.6% growth in volumes in 2009 as the Exchange recorded 1.5 million contracts valued at US $79 billion at the end of 2009. Surpassing the 2008 total volume of 1.142 million contracts, DGCX said that this is the highest annual volume to be achieved since inception.

With Israel's polished diamond exports more than doubled to $308.2 million in December 2009, Surat hopes to improve its diamond trade in 2010. Surat's diamond traders expect that the new year will spell a boom for the diamond business in the city, which processes almost every diamond made in the world.

The biggest churning in copper market will be seen in the coming days as employees at Chile's biggest copper mine of Codelco, owned by the government, went on a strike this week. The Chuquicamata mine in northern Chile is one of the world's largest open-pit operations and it produces about half of Codelco's output. Codelco as a whole produces about 4 per cent of the world's copper. With production in Chile's main mine hit by the strike, copper market is all set to hot up in the coming days.

Consolidated Thompson (CLM.TO), which is developing the Bloom Lake iron ore project in northern Quebec, said on Tuesday it has entered into an offtake and credit agreement with Korea's SK Networks (001740.KS).

Vanguard Group Inc, one of the largest mutual fund companies, agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit accusing it of racial bias in hiring.

GMAC Financial Services said on Tuesday that it expects to post a combined fourth-quarter loss of about $5 billion largely on charges related to the auto and home finance company's bid to write down or sell risky mortgage assets.

Calpers, the biggest U.S. public pension fund, said on Tuesday that unofficial election results show Kurato Shimada and Joseph 'J.J.' Jelincic winning member-at-large seats on its board.

ESPN and Discovery Communications Inc both unveiled plans on Tuesday to launch 3-D television networks, reflecting a growing momentum in the entertainment industry to usher 3-D into the home.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose on Tuesday as better-than-expected factory orders and a surge in vehicle sales at Ford Motor Co provided more evidence of an economic recovery.