(Reuters) - The U.S. economy gathered speed in the fourth quarter with a big gain in consumer spending and strong exports pushing demand ahead at the fastest clip in more than 26 years. The economy grew at a solid 3.2 percent annual rate in the final three months of 2010, but it would have risen at a 7.1 percent rate if businesses had not put the brakes on rising inventories, the Commerce Department said on Friday. It was the largest rise in final demand since the second quarter of 1984.

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(Reuters) - Ford Motor Co's fourth-quarter profit disappointed Wall Street, due to higher costs to launch new vehicles like the Explorer SUV, increasing commodity prices and a loss in Europe, sending its shares down 5.5 percent. Excluding one-time items, Ford posted an operating profit of 30 cents per share for the fourth quarter, well below the 48 cents per share analysts had forecast on that basis.

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(Reuters) - Nasdaq did not publish quotes for its main indexes after the market opened on Friday due to a data outage, but individual stock quotes were unaffected. Nasdaq Omx Group Inc (NDAQ.O) said it was investigating a problem with its global index data service that affected index quotes dissemination.

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(Reuters) - Amazon.com founder and Chief Executive Jeff Bezos trimmed his stake in the world's biggest online retailer on New Year's Eve, a regulatory filing showed on Friday, a day after it reported quarterly results. The CEO's stake came down to 19.5 percent as of December 31, 2010, from 21.2 percent. Thursday's results showed profit margins at the company were sliding, worrying investors and sending its shares down 9 percent.

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(Reuters) - U.S. grain prices should stay unrelentingly high this year, according to a Reuters poll, the latest sign that the era of cheap food has come to an end. U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat prices -- which surged by as much has 50 percent last year and hit their highest levels since mid-2008 -- will dip by at most 5 percent by the end of 2011, according to the poll of 16 analysts.

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(Reuters) - Chevron Corp (CVX.N) reported a higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Friday, lifted by the sharp rise in oil prices and the sale of its stake in a pipeline company. But the company added a modest 240 million oil-equivalent barrels to its reserves during the year, only about 24 percent of the oil it produced.

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(Reuters) - Sara Lee Corp (SLE.N) plans to split into two separate public companies focusing on North American meats and international coffee after takeover bids it received were not enough to entice it to sell the company. The company, whose shares rose slightly in premarket trade, said on Friday the split should be completed early in 2012 and would include a $3-per-share special dividend. The dividend totals $1.92 billion based on the number of shares outstanding in October.

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(Reuters) - Diversified manufacturer Honeywell International Inc (HON.N) raised its 2011 profit forecast on Friday and announced a deal to sell a unit that makes antifreeze and other car maintenance products. The world's largest maker of cockpit electronics said it would sell its automotive consumer products group to privately held Rank Group for $950 million.

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(Reuters) - Fretful central bankers and hard-pressed consumers hoping companies will swallow rising input costs look set to be disappointed as evidence grows that prices will increase in coming months. From a superjumbo jet plane to the ubiquitous Big Mac, manufacturers around the globe are plotting price rises to offset higher costs and claw back ground lost in the recession.

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(Reuters) - The Dow and S&P were little changed on Thursday as disappointing labor market data offset strong results from Caterpillar, but a strong outlook from Qualcomm lifted the Nasdaq. Initial jobless claims surged to 454,000 in the latest week, rising to the highest level since late October, the government said. Three Dow components posted quarterly results, including Procter & Gamble Co (PG.N), AT&T Inc (T.N) and Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N). The heavy equipment posted a higher-than-expected profit, sending the stock up 0.4 percent to $96.23.

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