News Headlines - 18 December 2013

▽Stocks Close at Record Highs as Fed Steps Back

U.S. stocks and gold swung higher, and U.S. Treasurys see-sawed, after the Federal Reserve announced it would take a small step toward paring back of its aggressive efforts to support the U.S. economy. The timing of the move surprised many investors, who had been expecting the Fed to hold off paring its $85 billion-a-month bond market purchases.

▽Pound spikes after surprise fall in UK unemployment - Telegraph

A bigger-than-expected fall in the unemployment has brought closer the likelihood of the Bank of England raising the base interest rate from its historic low. Official figures out this morning showed the jobless rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 7.4pc in the three months to October, meaning there were 2.39m out of work over the period. Economists had been expecting a smaller fall to 7.6pc.

▽Facebook, Zuckerberg, banks must face IPO lawsuit: judge | Reuters

Facebook Inc, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and dozens of banks must face a lawsuit accusing the social media company of misleading investors about its health before its $16 billion initial public offering, a federal judge said. In a decision made public on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet in Manhattan said investors could pursue claims that Facebook should have prior to its May 2012 IPO disclosed internal projections on how increased mobile usage and product decisions might reduce future revenue.

▽BBC News - Are drones the future of modern warfare?

For the first time the Ministry of Defence and the RAF have opened up their drone operations to the media. The BBC's defence correspondent Jonathan Beale went to RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire to see the latest unmanned aerial vehicles being used by the British military.

▽Bayern advance to Club World Cup final - UEFA Champions League - News - UEFA.com

UEFA Champions League holders FC Bayern München ensured a smooth passage to Saturday's FIFA Club World Cup final courtesy of a 3-0 defeat of Chinese outfit Guangzhou Evergrande FC.