US stocks higher as fiscal cliff looms

US stocks have opened higher, two weeks before the world's biggest economy could go off the "fiscal cliff".

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 41.51 points, or 0.32 per cent, at 13,176.52 in early trade on Monday.

The broad-market S&P 500 rose 6.61 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 1,420.19.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite gained 15.10 points, or 0.51 per cent, at 2,986.43.

The action came shortly after the New York Federal Reserve said its Empire State manufacturing survey, measuring conditions in the New York region, fell for a fifth straight month in December, with both new orders and shipments lower.

"Despite the US fiscal cliff remaining unresolved and a disappointing read on regional manufacturing activity, the domestic equity markets are gaining ground," said analysts with Charles Schwab & Co.

Traders continued to fret about a series of tax increases and spending cuts set to take effect in January if Washington fails to reach a deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff, which economists warn could take the United States into recession.

Apple was up 0.1 per cent. The tech giant announced it had sold more than two million of the new iPhone 5 in China during the smartphone's first weekend in stores there.

On Friday, the Dow lost 0.27 per cent, the S&P 500 fell 0.41 per cent, while the Nasdaq shed 0.70 per cent.

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No 2012 vintage from Chateau d'Yquem

CHATEAU d'Yquem will not be producing a 2012 vintage after harvest rain prevented the grapes from reaching the levels of concentration required to make the world's most famous sweet wine.

Pierre Lurton, who runs the celebrated estate behind the Sauternes wine for its main shareholder LVMH, said the decision, which will cost the luxury goods group tens of millions of euros, had been taken to maintain Yquem's reputation for excellence.

"We tried our best but unfortunately the weather was not with us this year," Lurton told AFP.

"A brand like Yquem has to be prepared to not make a vintage. For the image of one of the world's great white wines and for Yquem's place in history, it was a reasonable decision not to make a wine this year."

Similar decisions were taken in 1952, 1972 and 1992.

"It is as if there was a curse on us every 20 years," Lurton added with a smile.

Despite advances in technology, the production of sweet wine in the Sauternes area of southwestern France remains hugely vulnerable to the vagaries of weather.

The sweetness of the wine comes from grapes that have been left on the vines long enough to be affected by noble rot, which bolsters sugar levels and imparts the complex notes of fruit, honey and nuts that make Sauternes the benchmark for dessert wines around the world.

For the rot to develop, producers rely on a combination of autumnal morning mists and midday sunshine that occur most but not all years.

"We were cropping some good stuff at the beginning (of the harvest) this year but then we had a lot of rain," Lurton said.

"The quantity was not good and the concentration was not there."

With an average production of 100,000 bottles per year, the decision to cancel output means foregoing about 25 million euros ($A31 million) of sales, but Lurton said it had been cleared by LVMH boss Bernard Arnault.

"He takes a view on the excellence and the durability of great brands," Lurton said.

"We don't reason in terms of turnover, we take a long-term view. We may have lost sales this year but we have maintained Yquem's reputation for excellence.

"There will be many more great vintages in the future that will allow us to make up for this one."

The 2012 Yquem has been the most high-profile victim of adverse weather conditions that played havoc with wine production across much of France this year.

A combination of spring frosts and hail and harvest rain slashed yields in most areas.

Early tasting reports indicate that quality has been maintained in Burgundy, Champagne and the Rhone but 2012 is tipped to be one of the most disappointing red Bordeaux vintages of recent years.

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Italian engineer kidnapped in Syria

AN Italian engineer has been kidnapped in Syria along with two other workers from the steel works in the port city of Latakia, the foreign ministry in Rome says.

"In all such cases, the safety of our countryman is of the utmost priority and it is indispensable to be as discreet as possible," Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said in a statement, without revealing any further details about the kidnap victims.

The ministry's crisis unit has "activated all available channels" and the Italian's family has been informed, the ministry said.

Italian media named the engineer as Mario Belluomo from Catania in Sicily, who worked at the steel plant in Syria's principal port city. According to the reports, he was kidnapped in nearby Tartus, another port city.

"We are working with the utmost commitment and with the same dedication with which our embassies and consulates give assistance daily to our countrymen in difficulty, including in risky regions and situations," he said.

Terzi said his thoughts went to the kidnapped men and to Giovanni Lo Porto, an Italian taken hostage in Pakistan in January, who has yet to be freed.

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Wave of Iraq attacks kills at least 47

A WAVE of attacks targeting both Iraqi security forces and civilians has killed at least 47 people and wounded at least 110, security and medical officials say.

The attacks, which hit more than a dozen different Iraqi cities and towns on Monday, came on the eve of the first anniversary of the US military withdrawal from Iraq.

Violence in Iraq is down significantly from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but while Iraqi forces have held their own since the US departure, insurgent groups still pose a significant threat, and attacks occur almost daily.

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Doomed French elephants win reprieve

TWO sick middle-aged elephants that French officials wanted to put down have been given a Christmas reprieve after an appeal to President Francois Hollande and an internet campaign to save them.

Baby and Nepal, who both have tuberculosis, had been deemed a threat to other animals at their zoo in the city of Lyon as well as to human visitors since the disease is highly contagious.

But when city authorities ordered them to be put down by December 20, Gilbert Edelstein, the French circus owner who donated them to the Parc de la Tete d'Or zoo, launched a campaign to save the 40-something females.

He even sought the "supreme intervention" of Hollande in a letter to the president, while an internet campaign to save the Asian elephants gathered 11,000 signatories.

The efforts appear to have paid off. On Monday, local authorities issued a ruling suspending the order to put the elephants to sleep with a lethal injection.

It was not immediately clear if that suspension would become permanent.

Edelstein had argued that when he donated the elephants to the zoo, they were perfectly healthy and he said that if they contracted tuberculosis, it was from the other animals.

"I want them to be treated and returned to me," he said on Friday.

Elephants have a lifespan of 60-70 years.

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US eyes Google antitrust settlement

US regulators are likely to conclude a lengthy antitrust probe of Google's dominance of internet searches with a voluntary settlement, news reports say.

The Wall Street Journal said Google was likely to agree to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission that calls for unspecified changes in how it handles search queries, but would stop short of signing a consent decree that could be enforced by a court.

The Washington Post also reported that a settlement was likely this week, saying it would fall well short of what Google's rivals had sought.

Online news site Politico reported that the FTC did not have the votes to bring an enforcement action against Google, but that the settlement would include new practices on the use of "snippets" of user reviews from companies such as Yelp and TripAdvisor, companies which have said Google uses such content without permission.

Politico said Google will also pledge to make it easier for advertisers to buy ad space on its search engine and to move their ad campaigns to competing sites.

The reports said Google may agree to a separate consent decree to limit the use of patents, including those acquired when it bought Motorola Mobility, to curb competition.

These settlements would not necessarily affect a separate review of Google's practices in the European Union, or by several US states, which would be able to bring their own enforcement actions.

Critics point out that Google controls some 70 per cent of the internet search market - and the advertising that goes along with it - and may exert even more power in the mobile sector by controlling the Android operating system used on two-thirds of smartphones.

Google has been accused of "scraping" content from other services like travel and restaurant reviews while keeping consumers on its own sites.

It is also under fire for allegedly promoting its own services - including travel, restaurant reviews and YouTube videos - in its search results.

European Union competition watchdogs began an investigation into Google in 2010 and the FTC opened its own probe into the company's lucrative search and advertising business in June 2011.

A Google spokesperson, asked about the reports, said: "We continue to work co-operatively with the Federal Trade Commission and are happy to answer any questions they may have."

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US names Lebanese ex-minister as terrorist

THE United States has named former Lebanese information minister Michel Samaha a "specially designated global terrorist" for allegedly aiding the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to launch attacks in Lebanon.

Samaha was arrested on August 9 by Lebanese authorities and accused of plotting to assassinate Lebanese leaders and of transporting explosives into Lebanon for such attacks, the US Treasury said in a statement.

"The United States will continue to expose any attempts by the Assad regime to meddle in the affairs of its neighbours and further destabilise the region," said Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen.

"We will continue to work with our international partners to ensure that the sovereignty of Lebanon is respected and upheld."

Samaha, 64, who has both Lebanese and Canadian nationality, was minister of information and tourism in the 1990s.

He was officially listed as a "global terrorist" by the US State Department, and the Treasury slapped economic sanctions on him that freeze any assets he holds under US jurisdiction and forbids Americans from doing business with him.

The Treasury said Samaha "reportedly" received the explosives he is accused of transporting from Ali Mamluk, the head of the Syrian National Security Bureau.

"Information available to the US government indicates that in July 2012 Mamluk was involved in a plot with Samaha to conduct bombing attacks against Lebanese political and religious figures in northern Lebanon, and Mamluk provided money and explosives to Samaha for that purpose," the Treasury said.

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