U.S.

U.S. Stocks Gain as Wholesale-Inventory Drop Spurs Optimism; Citi Rises U.S. stocks rose for a second day as an unexpected drop in wholesale inventories and improvement in the corporate bond market spurred optimism the global economic recovery will strengthen.

Unemployment Eased in Nine U.S. States in January, Labor Department Says The unemployment rate decreased in nine U.S. states in January and climbed in 30, signaling the thawing of the labor market is not broad-based.

Nobel Laureate Spence Says U.S. Economic Recovery to Take `Several Years' The U.S. faces an extended recovery from the recession even after the government infusion of cash into stimulus programs and the banking system, said Andrew Michael Spence, a Nobel laureate in economics.

Senate Said to Weigh Setting Up $50 Billion Fund to Wind Down Failed Firms Senate negotiators are closing in on a deal to create a $50 billion trust fund from fees on large financial firms that may include Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. and be used to wind down failing institutions, said a Senate aide and two people familiar with the talks.

Bank of America to End Overdraft Fees on Debit Cards, Offer Opt-Out Choice Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. bank by assets, will start preventing customers from spending more than they have in accounts linked to debit cards.

Hedge-Fund Losses Show Drop in Euro Fails to Benefit All Currency Traders Hedge funds that trade currencies are taking hits from politicians casting them as speculators out to sink the euro and push Greece into insolvency. They are also losing money.

Latin America

America Movil Proposes One-Time Dividend, Larger Stock-Buyback Program America Movil SAB plans to pay a one-time dividend and buy back more of its stock, rewarding investors as the Latin American wireless carrier pursues the region’s largest acquisition this year.

Petrobras, Repsol, BG Find More Oil off Brazil Coast Near Guara Field Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Repsol YPF SA and BG Group Plc found more evidence of oil in the same offshore Brazilian block where the companies’ Guara field holds as much as 2 billion barrels of crude.

Odds of Brazilian Rate Increase Decline If Meirelles Resigns, Volpon Says Brazilian central bank President Henrique Meirelles is unlikely to raise the benchmark interest rate this month if he leaves his post to seek a vice presidential nomination, according to Tony Volpon, a Latin America strategist at Nomura Holdings Inc.

Argentine Senate Set to Oust Central Bank's Marco del Pont Over Transfers Argentina’s Senate tomorrow will reject Mercedes Marco del Pont’s appointment as president of the central bank after she transferred $6.6 billion of reserves to the Treasury, said opposition Senator Gerardo Morales.

Buy Bullish Petrobras Options Before Share Sale, Goldman Sachs Recommends Investors should buy bullish options on Petroleo Brasileiro SA’s American depositary receipts because its planned share sale strengthens the “long-term” outlook for Brazil’s state-controlled oil producer, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said.

Empresas ICA Rises to Five-Week High on Lower Tax Bill, Earnings Revision Empresas ICA SAB, Mexico’s largest construction company, rose to a five-week high in Mexico City trading after cutting an estimate for future payments under a new tax law and revising up its fourth-quarter earnings.

Exclusive

Obama Proving Pessimists Wrong as Rebounding Economy Converges With Stocks The political consensus may be that President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy has been weak. The judgment of money in all its forms has been overwhelmingly positive, and that may be the more lasting appraisal.

Mazda Mining Phelps's Chinese Gold as Automakers Press for Brand Loyalty After 8.6 million Chinese bought their first cars last year, General Motors Co., Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Co. are positioning themselves to compete for return customers.

AIG's `Money in the Door' Asset Sales Garner $3.2 Billion for Bondholders American International Group Inc. bondholders reaped at least $3.2 billion after the bailed-out company announced deals to sell its two largest non-U.S. life insurance divisions for $51 billion.

Monsanto 7-State Probe Threatens Profit From 93% Hold on U.S. Soybean Crop At least seven U.S. state attorneys general are investigating whether Monsanto Co., the world’s largest seed producer, has abused its market power to lock out competitors and raise prices.

J&J Pushed Drug's Sale to Elderly After U.S. Warned of False Safety Claims Johnson & Johnson made plans to reach $302 million in geriatric sales for its antipsychotic Risperdal just months after federal regulators said the company falsely claimed the drug was safe and effective with the elderly, according to internal documents.

Pink Floyd, Queen May Leave EMI as Guy Hands's Buyout Mission `Implodes' Pink Floyd and Queen, bands that have been with EMI Music for about four decades, may head for the door, according to two people familiar with their talks, as concern mounts about the U.K. record label’s finances.