The Hong Kong division of Alibaba may go private as part of a refinancing and a buyback of Yahoo!’s (NASDAQ: YHOO) shares. (Reuters)

Financial backers of Greece say they are concerned about whether a deal to lend the company more money will hold. (Reuters)

Economists concerned about the U.S. economy a few months ago change their opinions. (Reuters)

A fall off in investment bank activity hurts Barclays (NYSE: BCS) earnings. (Reuters)

China’s imports fall, raising demand concerns. (Reuters)

The new CEO of Sony (NYSE: SNE) will try to marry hardware and software for many of the firm’s products, just as he did with the PS3. (Reuters)

The head of Xstrata is under pressure to get a better deal for a Glencore merger. (Reuters)

A new settlement between banks and the government could help one million homeowners. (WSJ)

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) to launch a home entertainment system as it moves into the hardware space as Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has. (WSJ)

An insider trading bill is broadly supported by Congress members. (WSJ)

Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) expands its use of web-based software products. (WSJ)

The FDA will speed the approval of biosimilar drug treatments. (WSJ)

An Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) reorganization could cost 1,800 jobs. (WSJ)

Weekly unemployment benefits numbers improve steadily. (WSJ)

Greek unemployment rises to 20.9%. (WSJ)

The head of the European Central Bank pushes banks to take inexpensive loans to stabilize eurozone financials. (WSJ)

Canada will allow uranium exports to China. (WSJ)

A Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) and Zynga (NASDAQ: ZNGA) partnership to marry physical games with online ones. (WSJ)

Southern Co.’s (NYSE: SO) plan to build a reactor in Georgia receives NRC approval. (WSJ)

Apple’s market cap passes that of Google and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) combined. (WSJ)

New research suggests the education gap between rich and poor has widened. (NYT)

German officials are worried that the ECB has cut lending standards too much. (FT)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN) posts earnings that trouble Wall St. and its shares fall by 10%. (Reuters)

A deal on mortgage data and foreclosures between five banks and state attorneys general is close to being done. The amount of the settlement will be about $25 billion. (Reuters)

Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) posts a drop in Q4 results. (Reuters)

Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) posts poor results due to metal prices. (Reuters)

Levovo beats earnings forecasts as its market share rises, and it will produce a TV product for Chinese consumers. (Reuters)

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) to launch a cloud storage product. (WSJ)

The House probably will approve a bill to regulate insider trading by members of Congress and their staffs. (WSJ)

China and Canada to increase official trade relations. (WSJ)

China’s CPI rises to 4.5% in January — up from 4.1% in December. (WSJ)

Some car companies press sales in Indonesia as the number of drivers there surges. (WSJ)

Chrysler may set a deal with banks for consumer and dealer loans that would replace its relationship with Ally. (WSJ)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) tightens it approval process for apps used on the iPad and iPhone. (WSJ)

Petrobras (NYSE: PTR) estimates of its reserves and the P&L they may create could be too optimistic. (WSJ)

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) buys much of AIG’s (NYSE: AIG) troubled bond portfolio, which dates back to 2008. (WSJ)

Two million homeowners could benefit from a $25 billion settlement over mortgages reached between five banks and the government. (NYT)

Car sales in China fall 24% in January. (NYT)

Young people are watching TV more and more on PCs. (NYT)

BP (NYSE: BP) is conversing with the U.S. government over claims from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and may settle. (Bloomberg)

Sarkozy’s approval ratings in France are near all-time lows for a president. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

A House committee pushes through plans for a reconsideration of the Keystone XL pipeline. (Reuters)

The chairman of Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) to leave. (Reuters)

Nissan posts better earnings on strong sales. (Reuters)

An attempt to bolster money market funds may involve setting up a capital buffer and blocking redemptions for 30 days. (Reuters)

A hacker releases source code from security firm Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC). (Reuters)

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Viacom (NYSE: VIA) may close a transaction to allow the e-commerce company to stream premium video from Viacom properties. (Reuters)

The European Central Bank will change the treatment of its Greek debt to try to salvage a bailout deal. (WSJ)

Some large investors disapprove of a merger deal between Glencore and Xtrata. (WSJ)

General Motors (NYSE: GM) will again try to cut workers at Opel. (WSJ)

UBS (NYSE: UBS) to cut bonuses by 60%. (WSJ)

CalSTRS says it has concerns about the diversity of Facebook’s board. (WSJ)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) asks the European Telecommunications Standards Institute to set rules for patent licensing among mobile device companies. (WSJ)

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti believes Europe must move beyond austerity to plans that will help create growth. (WSJ)

U.S. businesses upgrade plants and move jobs back to the U.S. (WSJ)

European sales of U.S. companies rose in the fourth quarter, which may cause a problem this year as the region’s economy slows. (WSJ)

Six Spanish banks to set aside €11.8 billion because of real estate trouble in the country. (WSJ)

India becomes more open to foreign investment as its economy slows. (NYT)

As Greece fails to set a deal on its debt, more workers go on strike. (NYT)

U.S. stocks reach a six-month high. (FT)

Collateralized mortgage obligations, one of the causes of the credit crisis, are again popular investments for banks. (FT)

Prices for Canadian oil drop sharply as supplies surge. (FT)

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) to fire 4,000 and move more production to Asia. (Bloomberg)

The Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) board rejects a $5.7 billion offer from Roche. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Greek leaders face a deal for settling sovereign debt matters as workers strike. (Reuters)

Toyota (NYSE: TM) posts good third-quarter profits and says the U.S. will be a difficult market. (Reuters)

Boeing (NYSE: BA) may have trouble with its 787 deliveries after flaws were found in the body of the aircraft. (Reuters)

Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and Redbox set a deal to compete with Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX). (Reuters)

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) may open a physical store in Seattle. (Reuters)

House Republicans move to reopen debate on the Keystone XL pipeline. (Reuters)

Problems with regulators have made the Medco (NYSE: MHS) merger with Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) less likely. (Reuters)

The U.S. will create programs to help the troubled money market industry. (WSJ)

Barclays (NYSE: BCS), Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS) will bid as the New York Fed auctions risky bonds it got as part of its AIG (NYSE: AIG) bailout. (WSJ)

Greece will cut 15,000 public sector jobs. (WSJ)

Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI) wants a 2.25% royalty on Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone sales based on IP claims. (WSJ)

Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Univision are in talks to create a 24-hour news channel. (WSJ)

India cuts its growth forecast to 6.9%. (WSJ)

Eugene Isenberg of Nabor Industries (NYSE: NBR) gives up a $100 million retirement payout. (WSJ)

The Obama budget will have $3 trillion in cuts over 10 years and $1.5 trillion in new taxes — mostly on the rich. (WSJ)

Japan wants to enter a large Asia-Pacific trade agreement, but the U.S. may object. (WSJ)

Satellite makers say that U.S. regulations make it difficult for them to compete overseas. (WSJ)

Republic Airways (NASDAQ: RJET) is about to sell Frontier. (WSJ)

New LeadershipIQ research breaks companies into four groups based on management style and systems to create results. (WSJ)

Walmart (NYSE: WMT) promotes a manager to be the new CEO of its China operations. (WSJ)

Some large European banks will not take European Central Bank loans because they fear it will make them appear weak. (WSJ)

BP (NYSE: BP) raises its dividend. (FT)

An escrow fund may be set to help Greece instead of all aid money going to the nation directly. (FT)

Farmers to plant the largest corn crop since 1984. (Bloomberg)

Walmart will lower fat, sodium and sugar in some foods. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Glencore offers an 8% deal to close a buyout of Xstrata. (Reuters)

HTC has trouble demonstrating that its stock is worth its premium. (Reuters)

The head of Deutsche Boerse says there will be industry consolidation despite the failure of a deal with NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX). (Reuters)

U.S. corporate profits for the past quarter were choppy. (WSJ)

Greek leaders still have not settled disagreements to close a round of financing. (WSJ)

Federal and state prosecutors are set to settle a mortgage fraud deal with five banks. (WSJ)

A JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) banker will be named head of the FDIC. (WSJ)

Chinese leaders offer aid to the EU but try to make certain it is understood they do not want to “takeover” European finances. (WSJ)

The International Monetary Fund cuts its target for China GDP growth. (WSJ)

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) and Malaysia’s Genting continue to press for casinos in Florida. (WSJ)

The National Automobile Dealers Association says used car prices could rise 1.2% in 2012. (WSJ)

Activists get Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) to agree to a deal that would make it easier for shareholders to push out board members. (WSJ)

Individual investors take on more risk because of low bond yields. (WSJ)

Retail shoppers likely will cut activity. (WSJ)

High Chinese export prices help Mexico. (WSJ)

An increasing number of print and online media turn to video content. (NYT)

Facebook has not found a way to make money on its mobile users. (NYT)

Greece says it would cut its budget further to get a rescue package. (NYT)

The European Central Bank will challenge capital structures of a number of the region’s banks. (FT)

Iran may not cut oil supplies to Europe as it said it would. (FT)

Global sales of junk bonds hit record levels. (FT)

The IMF says China’s growth could drop 4% from the current projection of 8.2% if global economic problems persist. (Bloomberg)

Many hedge funds will be hurt badly if their bets on Greece go wrong. (Bloomberg)

Indonesia’s economy hits its best growth rate since 1996. (Bloomberg)

The ECB may drop some sovereign debt demands for the region’s banks. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Fed president Richard Fisher says there is no need for QE3. (Reuters)

Panasonic posts a quarterly loss of $2.6 billion. (Reuters)

Martha Stewart Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO) says a provision in its deal with Macy’s (NYSE: M) would let it move ahead with its new JCPenney (NYSE: JCP) deal. (Reuters)

The U.S. plans to spend $2.8 billion to upgrade the F-16. (Reuters)

The Senate will pass a bill that makes it illegal for members of Congress to engage in insider trading. (WSJ)

Glencore and Xstrata may merge because of the rise in value of natural resources. (WSJ)

Bank “rainy day” funds may be run down by a need to boost earnings. (WSJ)

PetroChina (NYSE: PTR) will buy into Canadian shale assets to ensure future supply. (WSJ)

Corporate profits have risen but the portion paid out in taxes has fallen. (WSJ)

The Government Accountability Office says many hospitals overpay for devices. (WSJ)

The Obama Administration will accelerate the approval of wind farms off the East Coast. (WSJ)

Facebook will push advertisers to use its Sponsored Stories to increase its revenue. (WSJ)

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) will try to add to the security of its Android mobile-device software to combat hackers. (WSJ)

The head of Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) says Europe is in a recession. (WSJ)

New York Times (NYSE: NYT) profits fall as digital revenue fails to grow enough to offset print. (WSJ)

CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) will set an insurance program to help farmers after the collapse of MF Global. (WSJ)

A St. Louis Federal Reserve report shows that startup growth has slowed. (WSJ)

Excess natural gas supplies could cause a price crash in the spring. (WSJ)

The Securities and Exchange Commission allows big banks to avoid some sanctions. (NYT)

The National Institute of Economic and Social Research says the UK will be in recession this year. (NYT)

Greek tax reform has not overcome the nation’s inability to collect taxes. (NYT)

China may put money into the European Stability Mechanism/European Financial Stability Facility to help the region. (FT)

In testimony before Congress, Bernanke expresses concern about the growth of the economy. (FT)

Greece faces more trouble in its effort to remain in the eurozone as its rescue falters. (Bloomberg)

Deutsche Bank will not take European Central Bank loans in a move to protect its reputation. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

A federal mortgage deal with banks over mortgage fraud would give states enforcement power. (Reuters)

Sony (NYSE: SNE) expects a $2.9 billion loss. (Reuters)

Long-term investors continue to reject investments in long-term Italian bonds. (Reuters)

The House votes to extend a pay freeze for federal employees. (Reuters)

Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) will consider alternatives now that their merger has collapsed. (Reuters)

The size of Facebook’s IPO would top Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG). (WSJ)

January car sales rose 11% to the fastest pace in four years. (WSJ)

AMR will cut 13,000 jobs. (WSJ)

Deutsche Bank posts a loss. (WSJ)

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) recalls a number of birth control pills. (WSJ)

Samsung says a German court rejected an Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) request to stop the sales of Galaxy tablets and Nexus phones. (WSJ)

States with energy exploration businesses did well during the recession while manufacturing states are still struggling. (WSJ)

Many in Congress have rejected Obama’s new mortgage relief plan. (WSJ)

Disagreements between Germany and the IMF have slowed Greek bailout talks. (WSJ)

Kodak wants out of a deal that puts it name on the location where the Oscars are held. (WSJ)

Whirlpool’s (NYSE: WHR) cost cuts helped drive its profits. (WSJ)

Regulators are worried that a marketing deal between Verizon Wireless and Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) would be anticompetitive. (WSJ)

EU regulators may back down on plans to make banks keep large amounts of safe assets. (WSJ)

Spain announces plans to improve its troubled bank sector. (WSJ)

Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) sold $7 billion in bonds, near a record for emerging market companies. (WSJ)

A deal over Greek debt raises concerns that a rescue of Portugal will follow. (NYT)

Large U.S. companies have raised money at record low rates. (FT)

CDS on both corporations and sovereign debt show less concern about financial troubles. (Bloomberg)

The number of people who filed for unemployment benefits in Spain during January reached a record. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) says costs may drive it to a loss this quarter. (Reuters)

Sony (NASDAQ: SNE) appoints Kazuo Hirai as CEO. (Reuters)

China’s PMI is better than expected. (Reuters)

Patent plaintiffs file actions against Facebook ahead of its IPO. (Reuters)

Panasonic and Samsung will try to set financial ties to troubled Olympus. (Reuters)

Blackstone (NYSE: BX), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and DE Shaw are among Kodak’s largest creditors. (Reuters)

The U.S. to charge some Credit Suisse employees with mortgage bond fraud. (WSJ)

President Obama will try to set plans for millions to refinance mortgages. (WSJ)

Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) to buy India entertainment company UTV Software Communications. (WSJ)

Hulu will press its entry into original programs. (WSJ)

Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) says it will not offer certain Amazon.com books. (WSJ)

U.S. refiners and the United Steelworkers come to an agreement just ahead of a strike. (WSJ)

The U.S. deficit will be above $1 trillion again in the next year. (WSJ)

As Greece moves closer to default, Germany presses its case for more control over the small nation’s budget. (WSJ)

The European Central Bank faces huge losses from a Greek default. (WSJ)

Corn and tin prices rise rapidly. (WSJ)

Chrysler may do more to save Fiat than Fiat did for Chrysler. (WSJ)

The stock market has its best January gains in 15 years. (WSJ)

Natural gas futures fall 7.7%, nearly a one-day record. (WSJ)

Officials track more than 90% of the money lost from MF Global customer accounts. (NYT)

A new rare earth plant will open in Malaysia. (NYT)

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has attached some AMR assets to help employees to get benefits. (NYT)

New jobs data show the great differences among EU economies. (FT)

Greek bondholders may set a deal to get a better return if its economy recovers. (Bloomberg)

China’s home prices fall for the fifth month in January. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Honda (NYSE: HMC) posts a 65% drop in profits and cuts its outlook because of the yen and Thai floods. (Reuters)

Twenty-five nations, led by Germany, sign a bailout fund agreement. (Reuters)

Honda will launch its first business jet next week. (Reuters)

Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) independent directors agree that the chairman should not be a company executive. (Reuters)

German retail sales fall in December. (Reuters)

The WTO rules against Chinese policies on raw materials, but its rare earth exports are not addressed. (Reuters)

AT&T (NYSE: T) changes the roles of a number of its top managers. (Reuters)

Another director — Larry Babbio Jr. — leaves the Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) board. (Reuters)

New 401(k) rules could help millions of American with savings. (WSJ)

State attorneys general have until the end of the week to join a bank mortgage settlement set by the federal government. (WSJ)

Banco Santander’s (NYSE: STD) profits drop 98% on its real estate holdings. (WSJ)

The vice chairman of Avon Products (NYSE: AVP) loses his job over an overseas bribery probe. (WSJ)

Symphony IRI reports that more shoppers are moving to store brands and away from traditional ones. (WSJ)

RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) shares fall on a profit warning. (WSJ)

Portugal’s borrowing costs rise to euro-area highs. (WSJ)

The Manhattan Institute reports racial segregation reached a 100-year low. (WSJ)

Verizon’s (NYSE: VZ) home broadband efforts compete with Verizon Wireless products. (WSJ)

Groupon’s (NASDAQ: GRPN) CEO defends the value of the company’s shares. (WSJ)

Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) moves into India. (WSJ)

Pep Boys goes private. (WSJ)

Comscore reports that Facebook increased its display market share lead over Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). (WSJ)

Many European companies begin to prepare for the economic fallout of a troubled Europe. (WSJ)

Moody’s says it was unaware of balance sheet risks taken by MF Global. (WSJ)

BSkyB will launch an online TV service. (NYT)

The Treasury Department investigates whether Freddie Mac invested based on an inability of some Americans to refinance their homes. (NYT)

A bill to curtail insider trading in Congress advances. (NYT)

EU banks may take loans of as much as $1 trillion because of financial trouble in the region. (FT)

Strong R&D and innovation can extend the life cycles of technology companies. (FT)

Greece is near a confrontation with the European Union over a rescue. (Bloomberg)

German unemployment fell more than expected in January, according to the Federal Labor Agency. (Bloomberg)

Portugal will sell more assets to help with its national debt reduction. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

EU leaders probably will create a 20 billion euro fund to help improve unemployment among the young. (Reuters)

Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) reports that small business hiring slowed in January and wages dropped. (Reuters)

The head of Philips warns of challenges in the first half of this year. (Reuters)

Republicans will link a highway spending bill to the Keystone XL pipeline. (Reuters)

Much of the missing $1.2 billion from MF Global may never be found. (WSJ)

Citigroup’s (NYSE: C) Richard Parsons may retire as chairman. (WSJ)

Germany warns Greece it may not get bailout funds because of inadequate austerity measures. (WSJ)

The head of the Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS) will turn down his bonus because of an uproar about its size. (WSJ)

The IMF will review whether the yuan is still undervalued. (WSJ)

AMR’s nonunion retirees want more say in its Chapter 11. (WSJ)

The Association of Fundraising Professionals says many nonprofits had record years in 2011. (WSJ)

Sarkozy announces plans to improve France’s competitiveness. (WSJ)

Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Aol (NYSE: AOL) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) set an alliance to prevent phishing emails. (WSJ)

Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) will sell some of its Japanese operations. (WSJ)

A new Fed study warns of deflation. (WSJ)

Investors are voicing more concern over Japan’s debt. (WSJ)

Troubles at newspapers caused 71 dailies to be sold last year. (NYT)

Many U.S. banks use CDs to bet for or against Europe’s problems. (NYT)

Research In Motion (NYSE: RIMM), which has done well in Europe, faces more challenges there. (NYT)

Ratings agencies will be questioned about their role in MF Global. (FT)

Exports from industrial companies in the West to China fall. (FT)

Douglas A. McIntyre