(Reuters) - Shares in bailed-out insurer American International Group Inc hit their highest level since early October 2008 on Friday after the company took a major step toward closing its recapitalization. AIG said Thursday night its board had approved the issue of warrants to buy 75 million shares of common stock, which are conditioned on all the parties to the recapitalization agreeing it can close by January 14.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Employers hired far fewer workers than expected in December, showing the world's biggest economy still struggling to gain momentum, but the unemployment rate dropped to a more than 1-1/2 year low. The disappointing jobs growth figure reported by the Labor Department on Friday suggested the Federal Reserve would likely stay the course with its effort to support the economy with the purchase of $600 billion in government bonds.

• Read more

(Reuters) - The economy may be finally hitting its stride, even if growth remains too weak to put a real dent in the nation's jobless rate, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Friday. Offering no real clues on the future direction of monetary policy, Bernanke sounded cautiously more upbeat, citing improvements in consumer spending and a drop in jobless claims as hopeful signs that a fragile recovery was perking up.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Chinese securities regulators on Friday approved the joint ventures of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N), bringing the banks a step closer toward operating securities businesses in China that they, and other banks, have long sought. The widely-expected decision will enable the two Wall Street banks to underwrite stocks and bonds in one of the fastest growing securities markets in the world.

• Read more

(Reuters) - The aluminum industry has struggled for two years since the recession, but demand and prices have started to rise and one of the metal's biggest producers, Alcoa Inc (AA.N), is poised to start growing in profitability, analysts say. After small profits in recent quarters, Wall Street expects Alcoa to post healthier results when it kicks off the U.S. earnings season on Monday. Analysts on average expect Alcoa to post a fourth-quarter profit of 19 cents a share, up from 1 cent a share a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Revenue is seen rising to $5.68 billion from $5.43 billion. (For StarMine comparative valuations see r.reuters.com/zyj25r )

• Read more

(Reuters) - Starbucks Corp told a federal judge it gave Kraft Foods Inc ample warning of its plans to end their grocery partnership and that the food maker is now standing in the way of an orderly break-up. In legal filings on Thursday, the world's biggest coffee chain asked U.S. District Court Judge Cathy Seibel to deny Kraft's request to stop Starbucks from ending their 12-year-old deal and moving the business to a new partner.

• Read more

(Reuters) - American International Group Inc (AIG.N) has agreed in principle to pay $450 million to settle a lawsuit with rival insurance companies over alleged under-reporting of premiums on workers' compensation policies, court documents showed. The civil lawsuit was filed in mid-2009 by two firms, Safeco Insurance Co of America and Ohio Casualty Insurance Co, on behalf of a group of insurance companies and alleged a $1 billion workers' compensation under-reporting scheme at AIG.

• Read more

(Reuters) - Facebook is generating profits at a faster-than-expected rate, and will likely attract so many investors this year that it will have to disclose financial data similar to a publicly traded company by April 2012, according to a document distributed by Goldman Sachs. The move could set the stage for a much-anticipated Facebook initial public offering in 2012, though there is no guarantee that the social networking company would choose to sell shares to the public simply because it is required to open its books to the public.

• Read more

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks hovered near break-even on Thursday as an uptick in jobless claims failed to dent sentiment following surprisingly strong data on private-sector jobs creation a day earlier. But consumer shares tumbled as several top U.S. retailers missed estimates for December sales after a post-Christmas blizzard that slowed a two-month shopping spree.

• Read more

(Reuters) - New claims for jobless benefits moved higher last week, but a decline in the four-week average to a nearly 2-1/2 year low indicated a trend toward better labor market conditions remained intact. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 409,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday, above economists' expectations for 400,000. The prior week's figure was revised up to 391,000 from the previously reported 388,000.

• Read more