Jobs up

Companies boosted payrolls by 206,000 in November, according to data yesterday from ADP Employer Services.

Testimony

Goldman Sachs Chairman Lloyd Blankfein can be deposed in a civil case before the April criminal trial of a former Goldman Sachs board member accused of insider trading, US District Judge Jed Rakoff has ruled.

Icahn Rx

Investor Carl Icahn said he plans to urge medical-information provider WebMD Health to buy back as much as $1 billion in shares through a Dutch tender offer.

Contracts

The number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes rose by 10.4 percent in October, the biggest gain since Nov. 2010, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed.

Yahoo! bid

Alibaba Group Holding and Softbank are in advanced talks with Blackstone Group and Bain Capital about making a bid for all of Yahoo!, said people with knowledge of the matter.