The Hobbit holds on to box office crown
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has topped the North American box office for the third weekend in a row.
The prequel to Lord of The Rings took $32.9m (£20.3m) over the weekend, dwarfing new releases Les Miserables and Django Unchained.
Director Quentin Tarantino's western Django Unchained came in second with $30.7m (£18.9m).
Star-studded musical Les Miserables, directed by Tom Hooper, was third, taking $28m (£17.3m).
Universal's president for domestic distribution, Nikki Rocco, described the musical's takings as "phenomenal, especially considering we went into the weekend with $40m (£24.7m)".
"People really love this movie, which is even more rewarding and gratifying," Nikki Rocco said.
Les Miserables surged past The Hobbit with $18.1m (£11.2m) on its opening on Christmas Day.
But Peter Jackson's return to Middle Earth is in its third week of release and has now grossed $222.7m (£137.3m) in North America.
The Hobbit outperformed the US debut of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Peter Jackson's previous best opening in December 2003.
Elsewhere, comedy Parental Guidance, starring Billy Crystal and Bette Midler as grandparents, was fourth with $14.8m (£9.2m).
Tom Cruise's crime drama Jack Reacher, which sees him playing a former military investigator solving a fatal sniper attack, landed in fifth with $14m (£8.7m).
Judd Apatow's This is 40, starring Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann as a middle-aged couple, was sixth with $13.2m (£8.2m).
The movie cost $35m (£21.6m) to produce and has so far taken $37m (£22.8m) after two weeks.
The seventh spot went to Steven Spielberg's historical film Lincoln with $7.5m (£4.6m). It has now made $132m (£81.6) in total domestically.
A rush of high-profile films in December is expected to push 2012 to a domestic box office record.
The current record is $10.6bn, set in 2009.
Meanwhile, James Bond's Skyfall has now topped the $1bn (£618.2m) mark internationally.
Sony Pictures say it is the most successful James Bond film yet in the 50-year franchise.
NORTH AMERICAN BOX OFFICE
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ($32.9m)
- Django Unchained ($30.7m)
- Les Miserables ($28m)
- Parental Guidance ($14.8m)
- Jack Reacher ($14m)
Source: Hollywood.com
Asian shares rise as US House passes fiscal-cliff deal
Asian markets have risen after the US House of Representatives passed a deal to stave off the fiscal cliff.
A failure to agree a deal would have triggered spending cuts and tax increases worth $600bn (£370bn).
There had been fears that the measures would have derailed economic recovery in the world's biggest economy and in a worst case push it into a recession.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 2.1%, South Korea's Kospi added 1.7% and Australia's ASX 200 rose 1.2%
Along with being the world's largest economy, the US also is a key market for most of Asia's export-dependent economies.
There were concerns that if the full effects of the fiscal cliff were allowed to take hold, it may have led to a reduction in consumer spending.
That in turn could have hurt demand for Asian exports to the US and impacted growth amongst the region's leading manufacturers and economies.
Analysts said the approval of the deal had helped allay those fears among investors.
"With the final hurdle being passed now, we've got a minimum deal that avoids any immediate threat of the US falling off the cliff," said Jason Hughes, head of premium client management for IG Markets Singapore.
"That's definitely boosted Asian equities markets." he said
Market sentiment was also boosted by some encouraging regional economic data.
Manufacturing activity in China, the region's biggest economy and one of the key drivers of global growth in recent years, expanded for the third straight month in December.
China's official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), a key indicator or activity in the sector, stood at 50.6 in December. A reading above 50 shows expansion.
Meanwhile, a survey of manufacturing activity in South Korea indicated an expansion in the sector for the first time in seven months in December.
Over in Japan, the yen continued to weaken against the US dollar.
The Japanese currency was trading as low as 87.30 yen against the US dollar, the lowest level since July 2010.
Japan's new Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, has promised to take measures to weaken the yen to help revive the country's struggling economy.
The yen has fallen almost 9% against the US dollar since 15 November amid hopes of additional stimulus from the newly elected government.
A weaker yen bodes well for Japanese exporters as it makes their goods more affordable to foreign buyers and also helps boost profits when they repatriate their foreign earnings back home.
Portuguese budget sent to court to assess its fairness
The Portuguese president has said that he will send this year's controversial budget to the Constitutional Court.
Aníbal Cavaco Silva said the budget didn't treat citizens fairly, and hit some of them worse than others.
The right-of-centre government has argued that the unprecedented tax increases the budget contains were necessary to meet the terms of the country's eurozone bailout.
It is only the second time a Portuguese head of state has made such a move.
For most Portuguese workers the tax rises that came into effect on January 1 are equivalent to more than a month's wages.
President Cavaco Silva made the surprise announcement in his New Year's speech, the day after signing the budget into law.
"On my initiative, the Constitutional Court will be called on to decide on the conformity of the 2013 state budget with the constitution of the republic," he said.
In his speech he also said the country was in a vicious circle of austerity and recession and acknowledged that Portugal's foreign debt, now twice as high as Portugal's annual output, was unsustainable.
The opposition Socialists had already questioned the validity of the tax hikes and had threatened to take them to the Constitutional Court if the president did not.
Last year the court ruled against a pay cut for civil servants which forced the government to seek alternative sources of revenue.
Grece Former Finance faces prosecution
Greece’s coalition government called on Monday for the indictment of former Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou for allegedly removing the names of three of his relatives from a list of Swiss bank account holders whose tax records were to be re-examined.
Hollande vows to revive French supertax
France's President Francois Hollande says he still plans to raise the top rate of income tax after his 75% plan was struck down on technical grounds.
In a national address on New Year's Eve, he said the law would be redesigned, adding, "we will still ask more of those who have the most".
However, he did not mention the 75% figure, leading some to speculate that the move would be watered down.
The president also promised "all efforts" towards cutting unemployment.
The number of jobless broke the three-million barrier for the first time this year, prompting Mr Hollande to say the trend must be reversed.
Mr Hollande has been criticised for lacking direction, and his popularity levels have plummeted, since he took power in May.
He acknowledged the "serious and legitimate" concerns of the public, and that there had been "fits and starts" in his first six months.
But the president insisted France would emerge from the financial crisis "sooner and stronger" than expected because of action by his government.
"We've set the course - jobs, competitiveness and growth - and I will not deviate. It's the future of France," he said.
The Socialist president said he would resubmit his flagship policy of raising income tax for those earning more than 1m euros (£817,000) a year.
It was rejected by the Constitutional Council on Saturday because, unlike other forms of income tax, it was to be applied to individuals rather than households.
Mr Hollande said while the law would be "redesigned" its objective would remain the same - that those who could afford to do so should pay more to France's effort to tackle its deficit.
The policy has angered France's business leaders and the right-wing opposition, who say it discourages entrepreneurship and wealth-creation. It has led to some wealthy citizens, like the actor Gerard Depardieu, to say they would emigrate.
While the measure is popular with Mr Hollande's supporters on the left, some analysts think it may be dropped or watered down, possibly by raising the income level at which it is paid.
"I suspect this tax will be shelved," Philippe Gudin, an economist for Barclays and a former French treasury official, told Reuters news agency.
"For the [low amount of] revenue it would raise, the outcry it has provoked and the damage it has done to France's image, it would be more sensible if it were quietly buried."
--BBC
Singapore growth beats estimates as it avoids recession
Singapore's economy has averted a technical recession, as it reported better-than-expected growth data for the fourth quarter.
The economy expanded 1.1% in the October to December period, from a year earlier, advance estimates showed.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy grew 1.8%. That is up from a 6.3% contraction in the third quarter.
Growth was boosted by a rebound in the services industries, which include retail, finance and insurance sectors.
For the full year, the government said it estimates the economy to have grown by 1.2%.
That is lower than its forecast of around 1.5% annual growth for 2012.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement that growth was impacted by "the weakness in the manufacturing sector".
Singapore's manufacturing sector, which has been hurt by slowing global demand, has contracted for three successive quarters.
According to the latest data, the sector shrunk 10.8% in the fourth quarter, from the previous three months.
That follows a 9.9% contraction in the third quarter.
Analysts said that given the weak global demand, the sector may continue to remain under pressure in the coming months.
"Manufacturing still looks weak as seen from the double-digit decline," said Selena Ling, head of treasury research at OCBC in Singapore.
"Near term, it's hard to see any improvement in manufacturing."
The ministry issues advance estimates based largely on data for the first two months of the quarter.
--BBC
Merkel warns Germans of tough economic times ahead
Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that the German economic climate in 2013 will be "even more difficult".
In her new year message, she also cautioned that the eurozone debt crisis was far from over.
However, she did say that reforms designed to address the roots of the problem were beginning to bear fruit.
Her comments appeared to contradict German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble who said last week that the worst of the crisis was over.
In a taped interview to be broadcast later on Monday, Mrs Merkel urged Germans to be more patient.
"I know that many people are naturally concerned going into the new year," she said.
"The economic environment will not in fact be easier but rather more difficult next year. But we shouldn't let that get us down; rather it should spur us on."
She linked future German prosperity to a prosperous European Union.
"For our prosperity and our solidarity, we need to strike the right balance," she said.
"The European sovereign debt crisis shows how important this balance is.
"The reforms that we've introduced are beginning to have an impact. Nevertheless we need to have further continued patience. The crisis is far from over."
In an interview with the German newspaper Bild last week, Mr Schaeuble cited positive developments in Greece and France, saying: "I think the worst is behind us."
Germany - Europe's largest economy - has been the paymaster in the eurozone crisis, a move unpopular with many German voters and some conservative MPs in Mrs Merkel's coalition.
Analysts say most Germans remain wary of eurozone bailouts but generally approve of Mrs Merkel's handling of the crisis.
In October, the German government slashed its forecast for economic output in 2013 to 1.0%, compared to 1.6% previously anticipated.
The country's central bank has said Germany may even come close to recession early in the new year.
Nevertheless, Mrs Merkel underlined that Germany in 2012 had the lowest unemployment since reunification in 1990.
President Obama praises US 'fiscal cliff' deal
Barack Obama has hailed a deal reached to stave off a "fiscal cliff" of drastic taxation and spending measures as "just one step in the broader effort to strengthen the economy".
The US president was speaking after the House of Representatives passed a Senate-backed bill by 257 votes to 167.
It raises taxes for the wealthy and delays spending cuts for two months.
There had been intense pressure for the vote to be passed before financial markets reopened on Wednesday.
In Tuesday night's house vote, 172 Democrats and 85 Republicans voted in favour of the bill.
It had been passed in the Senate less than 24 hours earlier by 89 votes to eight after lengthy talks between Vice-President Joe Biden and Senate Republicans.
Speaking before returning to Hawaii for his interrupted Christmas holiday, Mr Obama said that in signing the law he was fulfilling a campaign pledge.
"I will sign a law that raises taxes on the wealthiest 2% of Americans... while preventing a middle-class tax hike," he told a White House press conference.
The US deficit was still too high, he said: While open to compromise on budgetary issues, he would not offer Congress spending cuts in return for lifting the government's borrowing limit, known as the debt ceiling.
"There is a path forward, if we focus not on politics, but on what's right for the country," added Mr Obama.
The "fiscal cliff" measures - cutting spending and increasing taxes dramatically - came into effect automatically at midnight on Monday when George W Bush-era tax cuts expired.
The 1 January deadline triggered tax increases of about $536bn and spending cuts of $109bn from domestic and military programmes.
Economists had warned that if the full effects of the fiscal cliff were allowed to take hold, the resulting reduction in consumer spending could have sparked a new recession.
The compromise deal extends the tax cuts for Americans earning under $400,000 (£246,000) - up from the $250,000 level Democrats had originally sought.
In addition to the income tax rates and spending cuts, the package includes:
Rises in inheritance taxes from 35% to 40% after the first $5m for an individual and $10m for a couple
- Rises in capital taxes - affecting some investment income - of up to 20%, but less than the 39.6% that would prevail without a deal
- One-year extension for unemployment benefits, affecting two million people
- Five-year extension for tax credits that help poorer and middle-class families
-BBC
Thousands in Hong Kong Protest Against China-Backed Leader
Thousands of protesters in Hong Kong are calling for the city's scandal-ridden chief executive to step down and demanding that China allow them to elect their own leaders.
Police say about 17,000 protesters joined a New Year's Day march through the city, holding signs and chanting slogans demanding the Beijing-backed chief executive Leung Chun-ying step down.
Leung, who took office in July, has faced widespread criticism following revelations that he tried to cover up illegal construction at his luxury homes – a sensitive issue in the crowded city, where space is at a premium.
One of the protesters Tuesday, Hong Kong resident Calvin Tse, was among those calling for China to allow universal suffrage in the former British colony.
“Under the current mechanism, no matter how much we dislike the chief executive, we cannot make him step down. So, I am forced to come out to ask him to step down. We don't even have a vote, he is elected by a small group of people. We cannot use our voting right to express our view no matter what his performance is like.”
Citizens in Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, were not given the right to elect their leader until 2017. Leung was elected in March by a committee dominated by pro-China appointees.
Many residents were upset that Leung's victory came after he criticized his rival, Henry Tang, for building an illegal basement in his own multi-million dollar home. Leung has apologized, but protesters have insisted that he step down.
In a statement Tuesday, Leung said he would “humbly” listen to the public's views. Police said as many as 8,000 protesters joined a rally in support of the leader.
In December, Leung narrowly survived a no-confidence vote in the legislature, thanks to undemocratically appointed, pro-Beijing legislators swaying the outcome.
The scandal comes amid rising anger among Hong Kong residents that China is meddling in local affairs.
60 Crushed to Death in Ivory Coast
Officials in Ivory Coast say at least 60 people were crushed to death during a stampede at a New Year's celebration in Abidjan.
At least 50 others were injured in the incident, which took place early Tuesday in the Plateau district, at a stadium where people had gathered to watch fireworks.
AIP television in Ivory Coast reports that most of the victims were teenagers. Distraught parents came to the stadium Tuesday, searching for their missing children among the bodies.
Authorities have launched an investigation into what caused the stampede.