Ryan Seacrest, radio and television producer and host of "American Idol", will receive $300 million from Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners to fund media ventures. In addition to "Idol," Seacrest is host and producer of "On Air With Ryan Seacrest" and "American Top 40" music countdown show on radio.

Though earnings season generally has gone well, investors cringed at some of the news of the week as Amazon.com posted profits that fell 57% and warned about a potential loss in the current quarter as it continues to invest in improved offering and distributions.  Likewise, economic bellwether UPS reported a near-30% decline in earnings (on a pension accounting change) and gave a weaker outlook for global growth in 2012 (though things in the US are looking up).  Exxon-Mobil reaped the benefits of higher crude prices, but the report also depicted a fall in production.  Same store sales numbers remained reasonably upbeat in January as Thomson Reuters reported a 4.2% gain in January with Costco and Target leading the charge (while Macy's lagged).  Likewise, automakers experienced a good January as Chrysler and Ford revealed solid sales results, though GM suffered a bit from deep discounting. 

When an original National Football League team wins the Super Bowl, the stock market goes up; when they lose, equities fall.  Such has been the case in 36 of the 45 championship games or 80% of the time.  Well, the Giants are an original NFL team (and the Patriots are not), so investors should be pulling for them, right?   In 2008, these same two teams matched up, the Giants prevailed, and the major equity indexes each tumbled over 30% during the year.

Earnings season picked up steam and again the results were mixed at best.  Economic bellwether Caterpillar reported a solid 60% rise in profits and offered an optimistic forecast for next year;  Apple produced record earnings and revenues on sales of the "new and improved" iPhone;  Conoco reaped the rewards of higher crude prices.  The airlines rebounded this quarter as Delta and US Airways offered fewer discounts and found new revenue sources (bags no longer travel free).  On the flipside, consumer giant Procter & Gamble struggled with rising commodity prices; AT&T took a hit from the failed T-Mobile merger; Verizon made revenue strides with Apple subscribers, but missed on earnings as pension charges and a worker strike hurt the bottom line.  Ford posted a record profit, but analysts worry about how the higher commodities, the floods in Thailand, and continued uncertainties in Europe will impact future operations.  In other news, Facebook moved closer to IPO filing, most likely with a $75 to $100 billion valuation.

Burger King is testing a home delivery service for of its burgers, fries and other sandwiches at some of its restaurants in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. There is a $2 delivery fee and a minimum order of $8 to $10. Orders will be accepted online or by phone. Burger King will not be delivering any drinks or breakfast.

The Internet has spoken (thanks Wikipedia).  While Congress has been debating piracy bills that potentially could hinder free and open communications via the web, companies like Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Twitter, and AOL decided to take a stand.  Wikipedia even chose to go "dark" for a 24-hour period and encouraged users to contact their representative and express concerns about censoring portions of the Internet.  A day later, both Houses agreed to postpone moving these bills forward (for now).

For the second time in three years Hostess Brands, the maker of Wonder Bread and Twinkies, fell into bankruptcy. Burdensome debt and labor costs left the company unable to compete. Ding Dongs, cupcakes and other treats will be available while Hostess restructures.

The new year brings the hype of a presidential election season which often proves telling for the markets. Investors will watch developments closely to predict what the election may mean for the markets.  Since 1928, 18 of the 21 presidential election years have proven positive for the S&P 500.  Let's make it 19 out of 22.

A new 90-story building will be erected on West 57th Street opposite Carnegie Hall. The One57 tower will house a 10,923-square-foot penthouse that will take up the top two floors of the residential skyscraper and will feature a six bedrooms and overlook Central Park.

With Italy's borrowing costs spiraling above 7%; Hungary stepping forward as the latest "victim," and the ECB being forced to take action, investors can't seem to take their eyes off of the train wreck.   Closer to home, the analysis of holiday sales continued to dominate the financial press (both real pundits and no-name bloggers). Despite the initial news that the season was far better for retailers than most had predicted, some new worries emerged as the weak (though strengthening) labor market weighed on consumer activity during the prior two months.

Retailers posted same-store sales figures for December and the results were mixed at best. Thomson Reuters reported a 3.4% average gain for the 22 participating retailers, below the 4.3% increase from December 2010. Some analysts credited "unseasonably warm weather" as a major culprit, through Target, JC Penney, and Kohl's cited the impact of mass discounting and higher apparel costs as reasons for the lackluster results. Macy's, on the other hand, reported solid sales and the company even raised its earnings outlook (and its dividend). Likewise, luxury retailers performed well during the season as Saks and Nordstrom posted nice sales increases. Shifting to automakers, consumers must have taken advantage of late-year discounting as Chrysler (+37%), Ford (+10%), and GM (+5%) each ended the year on a strong note.

Heineken, the world's third largest brewer will aquire pubs it already manages for Royal Bank of Scotland for $646 million. The deal adds 918 pubs to its existing portfolio of 462 outlets, making Heineken one of the largest pub owners in the UK.

Transactions highlighted the corporate news of the week as Zynga, the social game producer, came to market with its much anticipated IPO (to great fanfare, but little follow-through). The company raised about $1 billion in its offering and its price immediately shot higher out of the gates before tumbling below the $10 IPO level soon after. Management at Finnish game maker Rovio (Angry Birds) is watching closely as rumors have it seeking an offering of its own in 2013 on the Hong Kong Exchange where the likes of Prada and Samsonite have achieved successes through access to the growing (and highly liquid) Chinese institutional and retail markets. Elsewhere on the deal front, United Rentals will be acquiring RSC Holdings for just under $2 billion and Vulcan Materials found itself on the receiving end of a hostile $4.76 billion bid from Martin Marietta. In other corporate news, Intel reduced its fourth quarter forecast on supply concerns brought about from the Thailand floods. Best Buy put a bit of a damper on the holiday spirit by posting a 29% drop in its third quarter profits. On the brighter holiday-related note, FedEx reported solid earnings and confirmed its strong outlook for the year.

Adidas, the number two sporting brand in the world, has developed a $338 soccer shoe that uses an embedded chip to collect and transmit performance data. The shoe was worn in a FIFA exhibition game in September and is expected to hit store shelves in the U.S. this month.

Another week...another European distraction. While solid domestic holiday sales brought good cheer to retailers, investors focused on the Brussels summit and hoped the leaders could agree on some true solutions. Early rumors of revisions to the EU treaty (re: budgetary oversight) and a sizable addition to bailout fund brought great promise; investors also hoped the ECB would conduct additional bond purchases to limit the rise in rates throughout the region. Instead, the treaty changes never materialized, though oversight will be conducted through the Court of Justice; further, the ECB failed to commit to bond purchases, though it did lower its benchmark rate back to 1%. The IMF funding was raised by up to 200 billion euro, though the total lending capacity of the bailout fund was capped for now, leaving Italy, Spain, and others fearful of new credit crises by mid-2013. Still, investors reacted favorably to the fact that some progress is being made.

EMI Group, home of the Beatles label, will be split and sold for $4.1 billion. Vivendi Universal will aquire EMI's recorded music group for $1.9 billion and Sony will purchase EMI Music Publishing for $2.2 billion.

After the summer debacle when politicos couldn't agree on a measly debt ceiling bill (to the detriment of the US debt rating), the "best and brightest" forged a committee to show the world (and the rating agencies) that they can indeed rise above sheer partisanship and play well with others.  The super-committee was charged with finding $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction and prove that serious people can make serious decisions and put the country back on a serious course for a better tomorrow (or not).  With Democrats fearful of restricting entitlements and Republicans unwilling to upset anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, compromise once again became the punch line.

Moody's warned this morning that a rise in interest rates and prospects for weaker growth could be nagative for France's credit outlook. Of the six euro zone countries with AAA ratings, there are worries that France has the weakest economic fundamentals.

Here we go again. No, not Italy or Greece this time (though they remain prominently in the news along with newbie Spain). This repeat performance belongs to the US Congress, the super committee to be exact (de-emphasis on "super"), looks like it has failed to come to agreement on deficit reductions before the automatic $1.2 trillion in pre-established spending cuts take effect. The bipartisan group, that was supposed to be above the pure partisan fray, seems to have merely picked up where their finger-pointing, blame-placing brethren left off months ago. Some politicos hoped that the committee would think big (like the $4 trillion deficit cut range), but even the $1.2 trillion looks like a huge stretch with time running out. A few key senators are even looking into rewriting the automatic reductions by taking certain military adjustments off the table. All the while, investors, voters, and, of course, the rating agencies are watching.

Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has acquired $10.7 billion of IBM stock. The 64 million share purchase amounts to about 5.5% of the company. 

Another week...another European sob story (delete Greece, insert Italy). It's beginning to sound like a broken record. After the Italian bond yield rose above the dreaded seven percent level, Prime Minister Berlusconi decided it was time to call it quits (after fast-tracking an austerity plan aimed at improving Italy's budget woes). So good luck Mario Monti (Italy?) and Lucas Papademos (Greece) in your (expected) new roles in leading your respective governments.

In the corporate world, retail took center stage in the earnings' game as Macy's, Kohl's, and Nordstrom brought renewed hope for the holiday season. Home builders Toll Brothers and DR Horton both depicted higher profits, though plenty of concerns remain for housing. While GM portrayed a pessimistic picture for future quarters, Cisco Systems gave a relatively upbeat outlook (to go along with its declining profits). Yum Brands looks to become the first company to make a major acquisition of a Chinese brand with its planned purchase of Little Sheep Group. Starbucks is acquiring Evolution Fresh and hopes to transform the way the world drinks juice in much the same manner as it has done with coffee.

Harrisburg, PA, facing a $300 million debt crisis, has decided to auction off Wild West artifacts. The artifacts were purchased using tax dollars by former Mayor Stephen Reid. Reed's dream to build a Wild West museum in Harrisburg never materialized and now the city hopes to recoup some of the $15 million Reed spent. 

Who had a worse week? Greek Prime Minister Papandreou? Or (former) New Jersey Governor, Goldman Sachs co-chairman, and MF Global head Jon Corzine? Early in the week, Papandreou chose the path of democracy by insisting on a public referendum on Greece's bailout plan; his own government and other EU leaders raised considerable objections, fearing a "no vote" would send the country into more turmoil. Greece was basically given an ultimatum to choose between the referendum or staying in the Euro-zone. Ultimately the plan was scrapped. Now Papandreou faces a serious crisis of confidence (and potential resignation) and the never-ending EU challenges took a giant step backward. Meanwhile, Jon Corzine's attempt to relive his glory days of Goldman went up in flames when his company was forced to file for bankruptcy (the eighth largest in the US), partially due to sizable investments in European sovereign debt. Additionally, regulators began investigating missing moneys from client accounts (what's a few hundred million between friends?). Corzine resigned a few days later. Maybe he should look into a job with Nabors Industries, a company that will be paying its CEO a $100 million severance. 

The struggling retailer, which runs the Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy chains, plans to close a fifth of its namesake Gap stores in the U.S., by the end of 2013. The largest U.S. clothing chain said it plans to focus on opening new stores abroad. The company is opening stores in South America this year and plans to open 45 stores in China by the end of next year.

Strike up the band. Europe apparently has solved all of its financial "challenges". Or, in their leaders' own words...they have agreed on "a comprehensive set of additional measures reflecting our strong determination to do whatever is required to overcome the present difficulties and take the necessary steps for the completion of our economic and monetary union." (Heck, if Germany, France, and Slovakia can finally agree to do "whatever is required," why not Republicans and Democrats at home?) While Greek protests continue daily (and Italy and Spain worry about contagion), the EU leaders held a contentious summit that teetered between "storming out with nothing" and "completing a breakthrough deal" (though many significant details still need to be worked out, of course). In the end, the group agreed to significantly write-down Greece's sovereign debt held by private investors, recapitalize the banking system, and expand the bailout fund with possible guarantees for the likes of Spain's and Italy's bonds. The ministers hope that China and Japan will embrace the new deal and even throw a few bucks their way as an investment in the global economy, but nothing definitive has been determined at this time. 

Ferrari SpA has begun offering gold-colored exteriors and cashmere-covered seats for customers who find that cars like the $410,000 620-horsepower 599 GTB aren't quite unique enough.

Maybe Greece should just default already? After a solid year-and-a-half of endless debate, political bickering, threats of contagion, ratings downgrades, concerns about the impact on many banks' balance sheets, and violent protests on the streets, the problems just keep mounting. On the heels of a major meeting of EU ministers where a viable bailout plan is expected to be adopted, some "experts" still believe the end result (default) is inevitable. And, if so, would the ultimate impact be as bad as feared? Would Europe spring into mass contagion with other ailing countries following suit? Would it trigger another global recession (or worse)? Would banks be forced into bankruptcy because of the mass exposure to Greek (or other) debt? Would the euro-zone be broken up and considered a failed experiment? Sometimes, fear of the unknown is worse than the reality itself. Here's hoping the meeting brings the debacle closer to a painless finale and investors can simply move forward.

Kinder Morgan Inc. will purchase rival El Paso Corp. for $21 billion. The deal will combine the two largest natural gas pipeline operators in North America. The combine company will own 80,000 miles of pipeline stretching across the country.

 Isn't technology great? The ability to communicate instantly with family, friends, and business associates halfway across the global has made life much simpler (except when it doesn't work). This week, Research in Motion (Blackberry) was forced to apologize to millions of users in what was described as the largest outage in its history. Crucial tweets went undelivered; anticipated smiley faces were never received. While its CEO issued a heartfelt, "We've let many of you down," Blackberry users were still pretty irked.

Earnings highlighted the other major corporate news of the week as Alcoa kicked off the season with lackluster profits that missed analysts' (already reduced) forecasts. Likewise, JP Morgan-Chase suffered a drop in quarterly earnings on reduced investment banking activity (though its consumer business seems to be picking up). Google bucked the trend with a far better-than-expected report as demand for its search advertising platform accelerated. In other news, a couple of top retailers are taking measures to deal with the downturn. Liz Claiborne is selling off certain brands to help reduce its debt position, and Gap plans to close about 20% of its domestic stores by late 2013. Oh, and a company named Apple received over one million pre-orders of its new iPhone 4S in one day. (Not a good time for Blackberry to encounter problems.)