U.S. stocks edged up on Monday and global equities wrapped up a strong year as U.S. lawmakers held last-minute talks to avoid a budget crisis that many fear could cripple the world economy in 2013. Traders still at their desks on the last day of the year were focused on Washington, where politicians were trying to strike a deal that would prevent $600 billion of automatic tax increases and spending cuts from taking effect in January. Economists fear such a blast of fiscal austerity could shrink output in the world's biggest economy by about 4 percent, which would threaten a fragile global recovery. Senate Republican ... (full story)