- Greece Running Out of Time as Debt Talks Stumble (Bloomberg [17])
- China Economic Growth Slows, May Prompt Wen to Ease Policies (Bloomberg [18])
- Spain Clears Short Term Debt Test, Bigger Hurdle Looms (Reuters [19])
- U.S. Market Shrinks for First Time Since 2009 (Bloomberg [20])
- IMF, EU May Need to Give E. Europe More Help (Bloomberg [21])
- Securities Regulator to Relax Rules on Listing (China Daily [22])
- Monti Seeks German Help on Borrowing (FT [23])
- Draghi Questions Role of Ratings Companies After Downgrades (Bloomberg [24])
- S&P Downgrades Eurozone Bail-Out Fund (FT [25])
- Romney Unscathed From Debate Attacks (Reuters [26])
- Bank of Korea Chief Says Interest Rates Still ‘Accommodative’ (Bloomberg [27])
Press digest:
WSJ
* Pembina Pipeline Corp agreed to buy natural-gas-liquids infrastructure company Provident Energy Ltd for 3.2 billion Canadian dollars (US$3.1 billion) in stock, in what would create Canada's third-largest energy-infrastructure company.
* German car makers Volkswagen AG and BMW AG said Monday they are recalling more than 500,000 vehicles due to possible technical problems.
* Royal Bank of Scotland Group agreed to sell its aircraft-leasing business to a group led by Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc for around $7.3 billion.
Sumitomo Mitsui already has an extensive aircraft-finance business and beat competition in the final stages of the auction for RBS Aviation Capital from China Development Bank Corp.
* China's GDP growth slowed to 8.9 percent in the last quarter of 2011, compared with a year earlier, showing that the world's fastest engine of growth is downshifting.
* Federal prosecutors are stepping up their investigation of Standard & Poor's ratings of troubled mortgage securities during the financial crisis, according to former analysts questioned by prosecutors.
* Asian stock markets rose Tuesday as China reported faster-than-expected economic growth in the fourth quarter. The Nikkei climbed 0.8 percent.
* Standard & Poor's downgraded its long-term credit rating on Europe's rescue fund to double-A-plus from triple-A, following its move last Friday to lower ratings on a number of euro-zone states.
* Responding to a difficult environment for Wall Street, Morgan Stanley plans to tell employees this week that bonuses will drop sharply, with cash payouts capped at $125,000, according to people familiar with the matter.
Some top executives will receive nothing now, deferring their 2011 payouts until the end of this year.
* Investigators on the hunt for an estimated $1.2 billion in customer money missing since MF Global Holdings Ltd collapsed are zeroing in on the securities firm's back-office operations in Chicago, people familiar with the situation said.
European Economic News
- EU 25 New Car Registrations -6.40%. Previous -3.50%.
- Eurozone CPI Core 1.6% y/y – in line with expectations. Consensus 1.6% y/y. Previous 1.6% y/y.
- Eurozone CPI 0.3% m/m 2.7% y/y – lower than expected. Consensus 0.4% m/m 2.8% y/y. Previous 0.1% m/m 3.0% y/y.
- Germany ZEW Survey (Current Situation) for January 28.4 –higher than expected. Consensus 24.0. Previous 26.8.
- Germany ZEW Survey (Econ. Sentiment) for January -21.6 – higher than expected. Consensus -49.2. Previous -53.8.
- Sweden PES Unemployment Rate for December 4.7% - higher than expected. Consensus 4.6%. Previous 4.4%.
- UK DCLG UK House Prices for November -0.3% y/y. Previous -0.4% y/y.
- UK CPI for December 0.4% m/m 4.2% y/y – in line with expectations. Consensus 0.4% m/m 4.2% y/y. Previous 0.2% m/m 4.8% y/y.
- UK Core CPI for December 3.0% y/y – in line with expectations. Consensus 3.0% y/y. Previous 3.2% y/y.
- UK Retail Price Index for December 239.4. Previous 238.5.
- UK RPI for December 0.4% m/m 4.8% y/y – lower than expected. Consensus 0.3% m/m 4.7% y/y. Previous 0.2% m/m 5.2% y/y.
- UK RPI Ex Mort Int. Payments for December 5.0% y/y – higher than expected. Consensus 4.9% y/y. Previous 5.3% y/y.