Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is all set to urge key officials of Europe to take decisive action next week at a make-or-break summit for preventing a debt crisis from turning into runaway contagion.

Treasury announced Geithner would be meeting French President Nicolas Sarkozy, new Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, and Spanish Prime Minister-elect Mariano Rajoy on the December 6-8 trip.

Jan Eberly, the Treasury’s chief economist, said a European recession brought about by the debt crisis would pose serious risks to the U.S. economy.

“That’s a substantial exposure from U.S. economy to what happens in Europe, so that’s absolutely a source of concern,” Eberly, the assistant secretary for economic policy, told reporters.

On Friday, gold headed for its biggest weekly gain in a month as equities regained strength after fresh European efforts to resolve the debt crisis eased worries about a global recession.

Gold gained 1 percent to reach an intraday high of $1,665.99 an ounce and stood at $1,659.10 by 0648 GMT, up $9.75, bullion hit record around $1,920 in early September.

From in.finance.yahoo.com:

“Technical factors have been slightly positive recently, but have been slow to create any upside. The bullish focus for the market today will rest on payrolls, recapitalisation of European banks, and on generally slow economic growth.”

The physical sector was abuzz with activity, supporting prices. Steady purchases by jewellers and investors across Asia in recent weeks led to tight supply of gold bars in Singapore and Hong Kong, keeping premiums at their highest since at least February.

“The premiums should stay high. I am already quoting premiums at $2 to a high of $4 for immediate delivery. You can get gold bars at $2 premiums, but there’s a two-week waiting period,” said a dealer in Singapore.

“The payroll number will be a driver of trade today, but will jostle metals prices only if it’s significantly far from expectations,” said Tom Pawlicki, precious metals and energy analyst at MF Global.

Kingfisher Airlines is working with a consortium of banks for further cutting down interest rates and raising working capital as the carrier looks to restructure its fleet by selling and leasing back some of its aircraft to lower debt, its chairman Vijay Mallya said.

In a speech at the airline’s annual shareholders’ meeting on Wednesday, Mallya said, “The high cost of ATF (aviation turbine fuel) coupled with a weakening rupee is the biggest challenge that the whole aviation industry in India is currently dealing with and we are no exception.”

From in.finance.yahoo.com:

Shares of Kingfisher Airlines have lost about 63 percent in value in a year, with the company suffering losses on high oil prices and intense domestic competition.

The airline’s auditors had said in the company’s annual report for the fiscal year that ended March 31, that it needs capital infusion to remain viable.

The auditors B.K. Ramadhyani & Co also noted, that the airline’s financial statements had “been prepared on a going concern basis, notwithstanding the fact that its net worth is completely eroded.”

The airline continues to work aggressively to raise fresh capital, Mallya said, admitting it would not be an easy task.

Kingfisher Airlines also plans to convert part of its rupee loans into low-cost forex loans based on existing cash flows.

India’s second largest commercial vehicle maker, Ashok Leyland, said it expects its joint venture with Nissan Motors of Japan to sell 55,000 light commercial vehicles in the first year of sale, following a launch recently.

The demand for LCVs (Light commercial vehicles) in India is on the rise.

From in.finance.yahoo.com:

Light commercial vehicle sales in India have grown 27.4 percent so far this fiscal year, according to data released by an industry body, while demand for cars has taken a beating in the world’s second-fastest growing major auto market.

The 2008 JV, which has invested 12 billion rupees ($246 million) so far in product development, launched its ‘Dost’ model on Wednesday, marking the Nissan-Leyland JV’s foray into the LCV segment.

Its annual sales target for ‘Dost,’ which means ‘friend’ in Hindi, is about 17 percent of the smaller LCV market in India.

“The LCV market is underserved, so we are seeing enough demand for the next couple of years,” V Sumantran, chairman of Nissan-Ashok Leyland Powertrain Ltd, told reporters at the sidelines of the launch event.

“The joint venture will make incremental investments depending on how many products we want and at what intervals,” said Nitin Seth, executive director, LCV at Ashok Leyland.

European shares slipped and most Asian stock markets posted gains on Wednesday as jittery investors fearful of a European debt implosion looked to the Federal Reserve to announce measures to jolt the U.S. economy.

The dollar rose against the euro and was stable against the yen, while benchmark oil hovered below $87 a barrel.

From news.yahoo.com:

European shares fell in early trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.3 percent to 5,348.79 and Germany’s DAX dropped 1 percent to 5,518.21. The CAC-40 in Paris was 0.7 percent lower at 2,962.87.

Wall Street was headed for a muted start to trading, with Dow Jones industrial futures up 0.1 percent at 11,343 while S&P 500 futures were unchanged at 1,196.

Asian benchmarks were mostly higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.2 percent to close at 8,741.16 after the Finance Ministry released trade data showing the country’s exports rose for the first time in six months.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 0.1 percent at 11,408.66, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 0.2 percent to 1,202.09, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 0.9 percent to 2,590.24.

LG Display, the flat-screen maker, will be slashing capital spending for the next quarter by a quarter as booming sales of mobile devices from iPads to Android smartphones saps demand for TV panels, its main source of earnings.

“LCD makers will keep 2012 investment plan conservative and LG is also likely to cut spending again as visibility is very low due to weak demand especially from Europe and the United States,” John Soh, an analyst at Shinhan Investment & Securities, said on Monday.

From Reuters.com:

Weak demand for PCs and TVs are a big concern for LCD panel makers as the two products account for nearly 90 percent of large-sized flat-screen panels.

LG Display’s smaller rivals, Taiwan’s AU Optronics and Chimei Innolux Corp have cut their capital spending for this year.

LG Display, a major panel supplier for iPads and iPhones, has steadily increased sales of tablet and e-book panels to try and make up for weak demand in TVs and computer screens.

This month, a media report said LG Electronics, the world’s No.2 TV maker, had cut its TV sales target this year by 20 percent, joining Sony in bracing for weaker sales due to uncertain global economic prospects.

“We plan around 3 trillion won ($2.8 billion) of capital spending next year and have no plans to build a new factory,” a LG Display spokesman said, confirming comments made by its chief executive to local media in an interview.

“LG is likely to report losses widening in the current quarter and the outlook for the next nine months or so is dreadful due to weak PC and TV demand,” Soh added.

Facebook users have expressed deep concerns over the appearance of confidential phone numbers on the social networking site.

The users are now realizing the sensitive information they’re sharing even though Facebook argues the feature has existed for over a year.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

Facebook adamantly denied that the confidential phone numbers of friends and family are freely accessible online, as many have worried.

The company posted a statement in which it said: “Rumors claiming that your phone contacts are visible to everyone on Facebook are false. Our Contacts list, formerly called Phonebook, has existed for a long time. The phone numbers listed there were either added by your friends themselves and made visible to you, or you have previously synced your phone contacts with Facebook.”

Don Debolt, director of threat research for Internet security firm Total Defense, said: “In some ways, Facebook is attempting to be very helpful, but how exactly they are using this information isn’t exactly clear.”

“I think this is a wake-up call for sure for parents to get involved,” Debolt said.

Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League (NFL), and DeMaurice Smith, the Players Association Executive Director, have finalized their new 10-year collective bargaining agreement on Friday.

The pair signed the ground-breaking deal in Canton, Ohio a day after players had ratified it.

From Reuters.com:

The agreement will provide owners with a larger share of the NFL’s $9 billion in annual revenue, offer new safety standards for players, create a rookie salary cap and increase benefits for retirees.

It will also, eventually, make the NFL the first major U.S. professional sports league to use blood testing for human growth hormone.

A fan shouted, “Thank you!” as Goodell and Smith emerged from the Hall of Fame to sign the agreement.

“You’re more than welcome,” Smith responded.

The significance of the setting was not lost on Goodell.

“Any football fan knows how important the steps of the Hall of Fame are,” the commissioner said. “They are even more important now that this agreement was signed here.”

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Let us access some meaningful and inspiring safety quotations to stay aware about the benefits of driving safely.

Road sense is the offspring of courtesy and the parent of safety. -Australian Traffic Rule, quoted in Quotations for Special Occasions by Maud van Buren, 1938

Safety is as simple as ABC – Always Be Careful. -Unknown Author

Safety isn’t expensive, its priceless. -Unknown Author

Be alert!  Accidents hurt. -Unknown Author

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If you don’t think it’s safe, it probably isn’t. -Unknown Author

When safety is a factor, call in a contractor. -Unknown Author

Wishing won’t keep you safe – safety will. -Unknown Author

Working safely is like breathing – if you don’t, you die. -Unknown Author

The safest risk is the one you didn’t take. -Unknown Author

Safety isn’t just a slogan, it’s a way of life. -Unknown Author

For safety is not a gadget but a state of mind. -Eleanor Everet

Safety doesn’t happen by accident.  Author Unknown

“Safety First” is “Safety Always.” -Charles M. Hayes

Precaution is better than cure. -Edward Coke

As soon as you see a mistake and don’t fix it, it becomes your mistake. -Unknown Author

Safety is a cheap and effective insurance policy. -Unknown Author

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