The measures, part of the government's proposed package of spending and taxes for 2008, were debated at a Cabinet meeting that stretched over about 12 hours, beginning late Friday afternoon and ending early Saturday.

Prodi's center-left coalition has been struggling to stay intact virtually since it began governing in May 2006, and some of his allies have been predicting that if his coalition unravels, early elections, eagerly sought by conservative opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi, would be the consequence.

The government's popularity has been sagging in opinion polls, and Berlusconi, the media mogul and former premier who Prodi defeated in 2006 elections, has been pressing for a return to the ballot box.

Prodi's description of the proposed national budget for next year sounded both like a pep talk to keep his coalition partners enthusiastic and a campaign rally in case elections are near.

"We are proud of this outcome of team play which will help families, businesses and citizens and the weakest members" of society, Prodi told a news conference at the premier's office.

The premier boasted that the overall euro11 billion (US$15.6 billion) budget was nearly one-third less than the current year's budget.

The budget must be passed by Parliament by the end of 2007, and if past years are any guide, many of the measures approved by the Cabinet could be revised several times before becoming law.

With his often rebellious, far-left coalition partners, including Communists, balking over Prodi's aim to reform Italy's generous pension system, the Cabinet decided to put off a decision on that thorny issue until Oct. 12.

The far-left had gone into the Cabinet session threatening not to approve the budget unless welfare spending took priority over tax cuts.

Prodi told the news conference that reforms to the pension system and hiring rules would be approved at the Oct. 12 session.

Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa said Italy's economic growth rate was declining, "but the drop is not dramatic."

He also sounded an optimistic note, saying that mortgage crises that have hit financial institutions and consumers hard in the United States, does not seem to be hitting Italy.

The government "is keeping all its promises" and "we are operating in a context of healing" Italy's finances, Padoa-Schioppa said.

Far-left parties already have forced Prodi to briefly resign over Italy's military mission in Afghanistan, and their opposition to economic reforms has stifled or watered down attempts to liberalize the country's economy and reduce public spending.

No examples were given, but Chinese television channels have increasingly broadcast late-night infomercials featuring scantily clad women, as well as ads for products that claim to boost sexual performance.

Regulators have already targeted ads using crude or suggestive language, behavior, and images, tightening their grip on TV and radio a few weeks ahead of a twice-a-decade Communist Party congress at which some new senior leaders will be appointed.

The latest ban by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, or SARFT, also bans advertisements for sexual aids including tonics and sex toys, along with "inelegant images" in ads for what it referred to simply as "adult products."

The notice indicated that regulators were concerned about both lascivious imagery and outrageous or insupportable claims about some products' benefits or effectiveness.

"Illegal 'sexual medication' advertisements and other harmful ads pose a grave threat to society," said the SAFT notice, issued last week and seen Sunday on the administration's Web site.

"They not only seriously mislead consumers, harm the people's health, pollute the social environment, and corrupt social mores, but also directly harm the credibility of public broadcasting and affect the image of the Communist Party and the government," the notice said.

China has already also issued strict rules for TV talent shows, including the banning of "American Idol"-style mass audience voting by mobile phone text message or the Internet.

A few weeks ago, SARFT ordered 11 radio shows off the air in southern and central China for talking too explicitly about sex or for broadcasting material of an "extreme pornographic nature."

Regulators have also banned television shows about cosmetic surgery and sex changes, and a talent show that they deemed coarse.

While dozens of mortgage companies have closed due to soaring defaults of home loans made to borrowers with weak, or subprime, credit, those problems previously had occurred among non-bank lenders such as New Century Financial Corp. NetBank, in contrast, is federally regulated.

Loose mortgage standards in recent years - especially among lenders catering to subprime borrowers - have resulted in a spike in home loan defaults.

Bert Ely, a banking consultant based in Alexandria, Va., said NetBank was in "deep trouble" before the subprime mortgage market's woes accelerated this year. Regulators, he said, "should have closed it a long time ago."

While some Internet-only banks are successful, he said, operating one without retail branches can be a difficult strategy to maintain.

Qualcomm had been looking to fill the general counsel post, the top in-house company lawyer, after previous top lawyer Lou Lupin quit last month. The San Diego-based company, ensnarled in patent litigation with Nokia Oyj and competitor Broadcom Corp., suffered several litigation setbacks earlier this year.

In June, the International Trade Commission ordered an import ban on newer models of phones that run on Qualcomm chips because the chips infringe a Broadcom patent. The ruling, which threatened to prevent phone companies from introducing new models for the holiday season, was put on hold earlier this month by an appeals court.

In August, a federal judge ruled Qualcomm intentionally infringed Irvine, California-based Broadcom's patents and ordered Qualcomm to pay twice as much in damages as originally ordered.

Evidence

Another court ruled Qualcomm withheld evidence in a separate lawsuit and that former company attorneys could face possible fines or sanctions for what that judge called an "organized program of litigation misconduct."

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court revived a Broadcom antitrust lawsuit accusing Qualcomm of stifling competition for chips.

Qualcomm is also embroiled in nearly a dozen legal battles with Finland-based Nokia, the world's biggest maker of mobile phones, over how much Nokia must pay to license Qualcomm's patents for the newest generation of phones with faster Internet access.

Earlier this month, the ITC said it would investigate patent-infringement claims by Nokia against Qualcomm.

After Lupin resigned in August for what Qualcomm called "personal" reasons, Carol Lam, previously the San Diego U.S. attorney, replaced him on an interim basis.

Apple

Rosenberg, 56, joins Qualcomm after working at Cupertino, California-based Apple for less than a year. He joined Apple last November after former General Counsel Nancy Heinen left in May 2006. She was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for her alleged role in improperly backdating stock-option grants.

Rosenberg, who will join Qualcomm Oct. 8, was previously general counsel at International Business Machines Corp.

Rosenberg will be replaced by Oracle's Cooperman, who will also hold the titles of senior vice president and secretary. Cooperman joined Apple Nov. 1 from Oracle.

"He has experience as a legal strategist in so many areas, including antitrust, regulatory and IP," said Qualcomm spokeswoman Emily Kilpatrick.

Apple spokeswoman Susan Lundgren declined to comment. Oracle's Bob Wynne didn't return a call seeking comment.

Texas Instruments Inc. is the biggest mobile-phone chipmaker.

Qualcomm shares rose 3 cents to $42.26 in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading.

From its global platform, McDermott offers a broad array of transactional services through globally integrated teams with experience in M&A, tax, labor/benefits, intellectual property, regulatory matters and disputes.  The study mentioned McDermott as among an "elite group of law firms [that] shine in international transactions."  According to BTI, McDermott is identified by clients as a "top hiring choice" for international transactions.

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Timothy Alvino, co-head of the Firm’s Corporate Department added:  "McDermott is particularly well suited to meet a company’s transactional needs, because we have premier practice groups in such areas as corporate, finance, benefits, intellectual property, antitrust and tax.  These groups function as integrated deal teams across our platform and link with sector-based teams across a broad range of industries.  This combination of strong subspecialty skill and in-depth industry knowledge provides clients superior levels of competence, practical business sense and service."

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McDermott completed nearly 100 M&A transactions in 2006 according to Mergerstat, an industry data provider.  The Firm's M&A practice is recognized worldwide, placing in the top 20 in several deal tables in 2006 and 2007 by Bloomberg (Global Legal M&A and Global Financial M&A), Thomson Financial (Worldwide Rankings for M&A/Legal Advisors and Americas Rankings for M&A/Legal Advisors) and Mergermarket  (Global M&A, North American M&A, Global Top Deals and North America Top Deals for YTD 2007).

During 2007, the Firm has completed nearly 85 M&A transactions, and was recognized for its involvement in the top ten U.S. deals announced by Thomson Financial through June 2007.  McDermott played a key role in three of the 10 largest deals, including the leveraged buyout of TXU and the spinoffs of Tyco Electronics and the Tyco Healthcare Group.

BTI conducted more than 150 independent interviews with corporate counsel responsible for transactions at large and Fortune 1000 companies.  BTI selected companies active in the deal markets with revenue in excess of $1 billion across 14 industries.  For more information visit www.bticonsulting.com.

"Freddie Mac's departure from proper accounting practices was the result of a corporate culture that sought stable earnings growth at any cost," said Linda Thomsen, the SEC's enforcement director, in a statement.

The SEC said it expects to distribute the penalty money to investors.

Freddie Mac has taken a number of steps to bolster its accounting practices. On Thursday, Freddie's chief executive, Richard Syron, said the agreement resolves the last investigation related to its earnings restatement.

"This is another milestone enabling us to focus entirely on those things that are most important -- further advancing our housing mission, effectively serving our customers and building our business for the future," Syron said.