Tiny Cut

European Stocks May Drop, Led by BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto Group (Bloomberg.com)
Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks may drop following declines in U.S. equities yesterday after a report showed a slump in factory output. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Group might lead mining companies lower as copper prices fell to a six-month low.

HOME PAGE (The Hindu)
HDFC Bank hikes prime rate to 13.5% HDFC Bank has hiked its benchmark prime lending rate by 1.5 percentage point cent to 13.5 per cent effective December 20, the bank said on its Web site. The bank last raised its PLR in June. It has also raised deposit rates by 50-75 basis ...

Films move to the fore on First Night (Boston Globe)
Organizers of next weekend's First Night celebration have gone all out with film programming this year, scheduling more than 50 short- and feature-length films for the city-wide party next Sunday. Even if you've got other plans for the evening, the programs start at 1 p.m. and present a wonderful selection of the year's local and international highlights.

Week ahead in Mkts: Support at 3750 to hold (Business Standard India)
Unless volumes climb, the likeliest move this week for the Nifty will be between 3750-3925 points. The market landed somewhat lower after a week of volatile trading. The Sensex closed at 13471, with a loss of 1.05 per cent.

NEC Says 1H Loss Was More Than Reported (AP via Yahoo! Finance)
Japanese electronics maker NEC Corp. said Friday its group net loss for the fiscal first-half was about US$20 million more than it reported a month ago.

East end of street slow to develop (The Herald-Sun)
CHAPEL HILL -- West Rosemary Street continues to attract developers with visions of new homes and commercial space dancing in their heads, but where's the love for East Rosemary?

Japan's NEC restates loss (The Globe and Mail)
TOKYO ? Japanese electronics maker NEC Corp. said Friday its group net loss for the fiscal first-half was about $20-million worse than it reported a month ago.