(Reuters) - Novartis AG (NOVN.VX) has wrapped up its long-awaited buyout of the remainder of U.S.-listed Alcon Inc (ACL.N) for $12.9 billion, after sweetening its original offer with cash. The Swiss drugmaker is hoping the Alcon deal, worth some $52 billion in total, will help it diversify and protect it against patent loss on big selling medicines such as blood pressure drug Diovan.

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(Reuters) - The United States risks major supply disruptions of rare earth metals used in clean energy products unless it diversifies its sources of the minerals, the Energy Department warns in a report due to be released later on Wednesday. The United States and other countries are worried that China, which controls 97 percent of the world trade in rare earth metals, will use those supplies as a political weapon and cut back their export when it is in a dispute with another country or to grow China's clean energy technology sector.

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(Reuters) - Dutch financial institutions, many of which were hit in the 2008 crisis, are likely be on the list of global "too-big-to-fail" banks and will need to meet new extra capital requirements, the central bank said on Wednesday. Regulators and central bankers, headed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, are still debating which global banks should be considered "systemically important" financial institutions (SIFIs) and therefore face extra regulations. "Although the Dutch financial sector in its totality has shrunk in size and connectedness since the start of the crisis, the Netherlands is still an important player," said the Dutch central bank (DNB) whose governor, Nout Wellink, is also chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

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(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve is expected to stay in a holding pattern on Tuesday as top policy officials evaluate the recent launch of a massive bond-buying program to boost the U.S. economy and how fresh fiscal stimulus might help do the job for them. The last scheduled meeting of Fed policymakers in 2010 got under way at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT) as scheduled, a Fed spokesman said. A statement is expected at about 2:15 p.m. (1915 GMT).

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(Reuters) - Members of the World Trade Organization are showing new energy and determination to reach a global trade deal but must now abandon fixed positions to clinch the agreement, the head of the WTO said on Tuesday. WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said it was no longer enough to have "answering machines" around the table as the WTO's 153 members respond to a call by leaders of the G20 and APEC to finish the Doha round trade talks next year.

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(Reuters) - Retail sales were stronger than expected in November as consumers stepped up despite the shadow of high unemployment, while producer prices rose, offering further evidence the economic recovery gathered steam in the fourth quarter. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday total retail sales increased 0.8 percent, advancing for a fifth straight month, as consumers snapped up clothing and other items at the start of the holiday season and receipts at gasoline stations surged.

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(Reuters) - Dollar Libor rates were steady on Tuesday as Federal Reserve officials met to assess their controversial bond buying program against a backdrop of fresh tax cuts that could lift U.S. economic growth. The central bank is not expected to signal any shift away from its intention to buy $600 billion in government debt but markets are already bringing forward expectations of when the Fed may start to raise interest rates.

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(Reuters) - The chief executive officers of large U.S. companies are much more optimistic about the economy than a few months ago, although their expectations for growth remain modest, according to a quarterly survey by the Business Roundtable. The Roundtable's economic outlook index jumped to 101, its highest level since the first quarter of 2006 and up from 86 three months ago. At its record low in early 2009, the index stood at negative-5.

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(Reuters) - European shares pared losses in afternoon trade Tuesday after data showed a better-than-expected rise in U.S. retail sales in November. By 1332 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top shares was down 0.1 percent at 1,127.75 points.

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(Reuters) - Stock index futures were little changed on Tuesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's assessment of the economy. * The Fed is expected to leave interest rates unchanged and evaluate its recent massive bond-buying program to support the economy. The announcement is due at about 2:15 p.m. EST.

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