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Regulators on Friday shut down small banks in Michigan and Pennsylvania, boosting the number of U.S. banks that have failed this year to 151 as bad loans have mounted and the economy has been slow to heal.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – In an attempt to prevent President Barack Obama’s plan to bring terror suspects to the United States for trial, the House voted 212-206 on Tuesday to curb the government’s expenses in the fiscal year. The measure targeted funds aimed at transferring inmates from a military holding facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to prisons in the U.S.

The move hurts Obama’s efforts to close the controversial detention camp by next year or his attempts to transfer 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed in America.

“None of the funds made available in this or any prior Act may be used to transfer, release, or assist in the transfer or release to or within the U.S., its territories, or possessions Khalid Sheikh Mohammed or any other detainee held at Guantanamo Bay as of June 24, 2009,” the bill explains.

The bill will be presented to the Senate for approval and would be sent to Obama to sign into law.

Upon assuming power in 2008, Obama had pledged to close down the notorious facility within a year but failed due to unyielding opposition from the U.S. Congress.

Currently, the prison, which is in Cuba’s Guantanamo naval base, holds nearly 170 detainees, including 58, who have been put into indefinite detention without trial.

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Applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week to the second-lowest level this year, evidence that companies are cutting fewer jobs. New claims for aid fell by a greater-than-expected 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 421,000.

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Chicago, IL, United States (AHN) – The economic grip which had been strangling most offices during the holiday season appears to be loosening its stronghold on holiday cheer in the office. According to a recent survey employers indicate they intend to offer more holiday perks (bonuses, parties, gifts) than last year.

According to a CareerBuilder survey 33 percent of employers plan to give their employees holiday bonuses this year, up from 29 percent in 2009. Among that group, 59 percent are planning to give the same amount as in previous years.

However, nine percent of employers say they will not be giving their workforce holiday bonuses even though they have in previous years, down from 12 percent last year.

In regards to the highly desired office parties 52 percent of employers are planning on throwing some type of holiday bash for their employees this year. Up a few points from 2009′s 49 percent.

Nearly three-in-ten (29 percent) employers plan to give holiday gifts, up from 26 percent in 2009.

“Many employers are financially in a better place this season and recognize the positive impact holiday perks can have on office morale,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder. “Companies are not only giving back to employees this holiday season, 45 percent say their charitable donations will be the same or more than previous years.”

Holiday perks in the office aren’t just from corporate; a quarter of workers say they plan to buy holiday gifts for co-workers this year, compared to 22 percent who plan to buy their boss a gift.

86 percent of workers buying gifts say they plan to spend $25 or less on average for each holiday gift they buy for the office.

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SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Australian wine production decreased in fiscal 2010, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics out Tuesday. Grape crush over the year totaled 1.6 million tonnes, down 7.5% year-on-year. The crush produced 1.1 billion liters of beverage wine, down 3.4% on last year. Red and rose wine production totaled 613 million liters, down 1.7%, while white wine production totaled 498 million liters, down 7.4%. Exports of Australian-produced wine rose 4.8% to 789 million liters with domestic sales up 4.7% to 471 million liters. Inventories fell 8.3% to to 1.7 billion liters.

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State owned bank PT Bank Negara Indonesia plans to increase its consumer loan to 30 percent of the total loans next year, assuming that the demand for the credit will remain high.

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The UK economy will will grow by less than expected next year, a report by the British Chambers of Commerce predicts.

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Seven debt-panel members backed its plan for getting the U.S. fiscal house in order, setting up the prospect of action next year.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Two million Americans are set to lose their insurance after jobless claims expire on Tuesday. Lawmakers returned from their Thanksgiving break on Monday without voting on extending them.

About 800,000 workers who have been searching for jobs for at least six months will spend the holidays without unemployment insurance, and 2 million by New Year’s Eve. Another 2 million will see their benefits expire by the end of February.

A bill extending unemployment insurance during the holidays failed in the House on Nov. 18 before Congress went on its Thanksgiving recess. Republicans blocked the measure, saying it would add to the deficit.

Lawmakers voted 258-154, short of the two-thirds required to pass the bill. All except 11 votes opposing the measure were from the GOP.

The bill introduced by Reps. Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Sander Levin (D-MI) temporarily extends benefits for three months until February 2011.

Republicans oppose the measure because it would increase the deficit by $12 billion, and add to the $13.795 trillion national debt.

The GOP also argues that some economists believe “prolonged unemployment benefits can theoretically increase unemployment duration by delaying individuals’ intensity to search for work.”

Unemployment nationwide remained 9.6 percent in October. In the long-term, 41 percent of jobless workers have been unemployed for at least six months.

“We are experiencing what can only be described as a jobs crisis, a sustained period of chronic unemployment; and two years of policies that have vastly increased the size and scope of government and added trillions to the debt and have done little to alleviate this problem,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said in last week’s weekly Republican address.

Democrats, however, cite a study by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office saying unemployment benefits increase consumer demand and spending by returning $2 into the economy for every $1 invested.

The AFL-CIO has also stated that, “With five job hunters for every one opening, long-term jobless workers have nowhere else to turn.”

The last extension in July was passed after three attempts that were blocked by Republicans, which means the expiring benefits may still be extended through Democratic efforts in Congress’ lame-duck session during the remainder of the year.

But no vote has been scheduled for the extension, with many bills in the backlog, including an extension of tax cuts for the middle class that Republicans also want for high-income earners. Lawmakers also need to work on a dozen annual appropriations bills for the 2011 fiscal year. They passed a stopgap measure on their last day of session in September before the mid-term elections, temporarily funding government operations.

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Charities, which are seeing a greater demand for services in a down economy, are relying heavily on holiday giving this year.

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