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NEW: Fracking can be done “safely and sensibly,” the chief executive of Cuadrilla saysMeasures must be put in place to limit the risk of triggering earthquakes, government saysFracking was halted last year after it caused two small tremors in northwestern EnglandOpponents: It’s a dirty process, and promises of cheap, abundant gas are “deluded”London — Britain’s government lifted its ban on a controversial mining process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, Thursday, allowing companies to continue their exploration of shale gas reserves.Energy Secretary Edward Davey said the decision was subject to new controls to limit the risks of seismic activity.A halt [...]

LONDON European shares hit an 18-month high and the euro and euro zone periphery bonds climbed on Tuesday, buoyed by a pick-up in German confidence indicators and expectations the Federal Reserve will keep pumping money into the U.S. economy. Following some disappointing euro zone data this month, the ZEW survey provided some relief for markets, showing confidence among German investors and economists increased sharply in November. Markets had been rattled on Monday by Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti’s announcement he would step down some weeks early. But the upbeat ZEW data helped lift shares and the euro from their gloom. [...]

LONDON European shares consolidated their recent rise on Tuesday after a surprise drop in U.S. manufacturing added to worries about stalled budget negotiations, while the euro hovered at a six-week high on optimism over Greece’s plan to buy back debt. The FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> of top European shares opened steady at 1121.46 points, with a 0.1 percent fall on London’s FTSE 100 balanced by small gains on Frankfurt’s DAX and Paris’s CAC-40 . Worries about a looming wave of U.S. spending cuts and tax hikes intensified on Monday, after the White House dismissed a budget deal proposal from Republicans, [...]

SAN FRANCISCO Yelp Inc. shares rose 4, to $ 19.62 Tuesday, as Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Youssef Squali raised his rating on the company’s stock to buy from hold. In a research note, Squali said he believes that the recent selloff in Yelp’s stock makes it a buying opportunity for the shares. Yelp’s shares have fallen 18% since Nov. 1, when Yelp gave a fourth-quarter forecast that disappointed investors. However, Squali said Yelp’s “local search opportunity remains compelling and intact over the intermediate to long term.” Yelp Chief Financial Officer Rob Krolik was scheduled to speak at a Credit Suisse technology conference Tuesday afternoon.

NEW YORK Retail stocks rose on Friday as the frenzy began for the holiday season’s biggest traffic and sales day. Best Buy Co. {s: bby] was up 2.9%. J.C. Penney rose 2.4%. Macy’s Inc. was up 1%. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. rose 0.6%. Target Corp. inched up 0.4%. The S&P Retail Index rose 0.3% to 665.48.

Ireland has made progress toward recovery after its 2010 bailout.Ireland first eurozone member to see credit rating improve since the region’s debt crisis erupted Ireland was forced into a European Union/International Monetary Fund bail-out in November 2010Also gaining credit for efforts to rein in public debt and bloated bank industry (Financial Times) — Investors looking for good eurozone news this week should have heeded Village People’s advice: “Go West.” Ireland became the first eurozone member, excluding tiny Estonia, to see a positive rating action by one of the big three US ratings agencies since the region’s debt crisis erupted in [...]

LONDON A warning about the global growth from the IMF sent European shares lower for a second day on Tuesday despite a move by China to support its flagging economy, while escalating tensions between Turkey and Syria in the Middle East sent oil higher. The FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> of top European shares fell 0.2 percent at 1,098.80 points, adding to a loss of 1 percent on Monday, with share markets in Germany , and the UK between 0.2 and 0,5 percent lower The falls came after the International Monetary Fund cut its 2012 global growth forecast to 3.3 percent [...]

A U.S. court removed a temporary sales ban against Samsung Electronics Co Ltd’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 won by Apple Inc in a patent dispute, allowing the South Korean company to sell the product in the United States. While the Galaxy 10.1 is an older model, the lifting of the ban could still help Samsung in the run-up to the pivotal holiday shopping season. “We are pleased with the court’s action today, which vindicates our position that there was no infringement of Apple’s design patent and that an injunction was not called for,” Samsung said in a statement. Separately, Samsung filed [...]

NEW YORK Shares of Research in Motion jumped 20% in premarket trades Friday after the tech firm’s better-than-expected results. Analysts at Wells Fargo hiked their fiscal 2013 sales view for the BlackBerry maker to $ 11.16 billion from $ 9.57 billion. Analysts expect the company to report a 2013 loss of $ 1.37 a share, compared to their earlier view for a profit of $ 1.88 a share. Wells Fargo reiterated its market perform rating on Research in Motion and said it faces continued challenges because of “increased competition, aggressive global pricing pressure, lower device shipments and increased marketing expenses.” [...]

Microsoft (MSFT) announced plans late Tuesday to hike its quarterly dividend by 15% and also disclosed the retirement of Raymond Gilmartin from the software giant’s board of directors. Shares of the maker of the Windows operating system ticked down slightly in after-hours trading following the news. Microsoft said its board of directors has signed off on plans to boost the company’s quarterly dividend to 23 cents per share from 20 cents. The dividend is payable on December 13 to shareholders of record on November 15. The move comes after a number of tech companies have announced plans to begin paying [...]