- Greek Parliament Backs Austerity as Rioters Burn Buildings (Bloomberg)
- China CIC Wary of EU Government Bond Investments (Reuters)
- Spain Unions Decry New Labor Rules (WSJ)
- China Tells Banks to Roll Over Loans (FT)
- We're Not Greece: Italian Prime Minister Monti (CNBC)
- Bernanke’s Labor Pessimism at Odds With U.S. Growth (Bloomberg)
- Obama Budget Seeks Funding for Trade Unit (Bloomberg)
- Obama's Election-Year Budget to Target Rich (Reuters)
- China May Need to Fine-Tune Policy This Quarter, Wen Says (Bloomberg)
- China’s Xi Seeks Second Front for U.S. Ties in Return to Iowa (Bloomberg)
- Why Greece and Portugal Ought to go Bankrupt (FT)
- 'Co-Co' Debt Finds Favor in Euro Zone (WSJ)
WSJ
* The Greek Parliament, under heavy guard from riot police, on Sunday approved a deeply unpopular package of spending and wage cuts, defying tens of thousands of people massed in the streets of the capital to protest a further round of austerity demanded by the government's international creditors.
* Just as the U.S. is preparing to crank up sales of its vast natural-gas supplies abroad, the global market is being reshaped by Japan-which is suddenly retreating from nuclear power after last year's earthquake.
* The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee asked Attorney General Eric Holder to examine the Justice Department's efforts to enforce a law limiting executive pay as companies might be skirting the law when issuing bonuses and other compensation.
* Former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker is expected to fire back at critics of a proposed ban on proprietary trading by banks, arguing in a comment letter that the rule would make the U.S. financial system safer.
* Searching for growth in a tepid economy, private-equity firms are zeroing in on the U.S. oil patch. Advances in drilling techniques such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, have made it easier to extract oil and natural gas from shale and other rock formations, creating an opening for private-equity firms to place big bets in a capital-hungry business.
* Many economists believe the Federal Reserve risks making a big mistake if it sticks to its recent guidance about keeping interest rates super low for the next three years.
* Alcatel-Lucent SA said Friday it swung to a full-year profit for the first time in its history and posted a positive cash flow in the fourth quarter, sending its shares soaring.
* The U.K. economy will remain subdued during 2012 as the euro-zone crisis weighs on sentiment, but it will avoid slipping back into recession due to an improvement in net trade and business investment, the Confederation of British Industry is expected to say Monday.
FT
PRIVATE CONTRACTORS TO BUILD AND RUN POLICE STATION
G4S, the world's largest security company, has won the first contract in Britain to build and staff a police station. (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5cecf890-558b-11e1-9d95-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1mC2593jI)
BOMBARDIER RENEWS RAIL THREAT
The Canadian owners of Bombardier renewed threats to shut down its last remaining train factory in Britain unless it wins next big government train contract.(http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/01046aae-5400-11e1-bacb-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1mC2593jI)
LOTUS TRIES TO APPLY BRAKES TO SALE RUMOURS
Proton, the Malaysian owners of Lotus Cars, dismissed rumours that it is about to sell the glamorous motoring brand once associated with James Bond movies.(http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8f3211bc-541b-11e1-bacb-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1mC2593jI)
HIRING SPREE FOR BULLISH DYSON
British engineering business Dyson plans to hire 300 new employees to boost expansion plans.(http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3295036a-558d-11e1-9d95-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1mC2593jI)
CEVIAN BUILDS UP STAKE IN COOKSON
Activist hedge fund Cevian, chaired by Lord Myners, has become the largest shareholder in Cookson, a British industrial materials business.(http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ac42adfc-541b-11e1-bacb-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1mC2593jI)
NYT
* With European Central Bank's cheap financing, some economists warn, sick banks now face less pressure to confront their problems, which could worsen in the years ahead.
* The Securities and Exchange Commission has begun a broad examination of the private equity industry, seeking clarity on violation of securities laws of the country's most powerful financial firms.
* After violent protests left dozens of buildings aflame in Athens, the Greek Parliament voted early on Monday to approve a package of harsh austerity measures demanded by the country's foreign lenders in exchange for new loans to keep Greece from defaulting on its debt.
* Facebook's pending initial public offering gives credence to the argument that personal data is the oil of the digital age. The company was built on a formula common to the technology industry: offer people a service, collect information about them as they use that service and use that information to sell advertising.
* One of the senior deal-makers at Goldman Sachs is preparing to retire, according to people briefed on the matter, joining a growing number of high-level executives who have left the Wall Street bank in recent months.
* European lawmakers, who two years ago capped fees for mobile data roaming within the European Union at 50 a month, want to expand the protection to cover the whole world. Extending the price controls is considered likely, but the rates proposed for the new limits through 2014 have been criticized by consumer advocates as too high, exceeding existing prices in Sweden and some other E.U. countries.
European Economic Data:
- Germany Wholesale Price Index 1.2% m/m 3.0% y/y. Previous 0.0% m/m 3.0% y/y.
- Switzerland Producer and Import Prices 0.0% m/m -2.4% y/y – lower than expected. Consensus 0.2% m/m -2.2% y/y. Previous 0.3% m/m -2.3% y/y.
- Turkey Current Account -6.6B – lower than expected. Consensus -6.5B. Previous -5.4B.
- Czech Republic Current Account –CZK8.93B – higher than expected. Consensus –CZK3.25B. Previous CZK6.61B.
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