Groupon Shares Slump After Revenue Forecast Misses Estimates

Groupon Inc. slumped as much as 29 percent in German trading after forecasting sales that missed analysts’ estimates, underscoring the challenge facing Andrew Mason, whose board has already considered replacing him as chief executive officer.
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Pope Set for Vatican Airlift as Cardinals Size Up Dossier

Pope Benedict XVI will become the first pontiff in 600 years to abdicate when he’s airlifted out of the Vatican today, as cardinals set to elect his successor assess the impact of a secret dossier on church intrigue.
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J.C. Penney Lowest Sales in Decades Show Johnson Stumbles

J.C. Penney Co. Chief Executive Officer Ron Johnson is facing mounting pressure after the first year of his turnaround plan resulted in the department-store company’s lowest annual sales in more than two decades.
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Egypt Balloon Pilot Jumped From Gondola Before Crash

The pilot of a hot-air balloon that caught fire in mid-air and crashed, killing 19 foreign tourists, jumped from the gondola without shutting off the gas valve, Egypt’s Civil Aviation Minister Wael El-Maadawi said.
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Failing to Beat Apple, Nokia Aims for BlackBerry

As erstwhile smartphone leader Nokia Oyj fails to gain much headway on Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., the Finnish company is setting its sights on a weaker rival: BlackBerry.
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Italy Confronts Vacuum as Leaders Seek to Avoid Election

Pier Luigi Bersani, leader of the winning coalition in Italy’s elections, appealed to populist Beppe Grillo to show he’s willing to help govern after the inconclusive vote forced leaders into coalition building.
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Fed Faces Explaining Billion-Dollar Losses in QE Exit Stress

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s efforts to rescue the economy could result in more than a half trillion dollars of paper losses on the central bank’s books if interest rates rise abruptly from recent levels.
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Euro Strengthens Against Dollar as Italy Sells Bonds; Yen Gains

The euro strengthened for the first time in three days against the dollar as Italy reached its target in a bond sale and a report showed economic confidence in the region improved this month.
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Bernanke Defends Asset Buying as Benefits Outweigh Risks

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke defended the central bank’s unprecedented asset purchases, saying they are supporting the expansion with little risk of inflation or asset-price bubbles.
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Yahoo CEO Mayer Revives Debate Over Work-From-Home Merits

Yahoo! Inc. Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer, by ordering staff to report to offices, has reinvigorated debate over the merits of giving employees more flexible working arrangements.
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Italy Renews Market Concerns as Voters Reject Monti

Italy’s inconclusive election triggered renewed market convulsions over Europe’s debt crisis as recession-scarred voters repudiated budget rigor and established former comedian Beppe Grillo as a political force.
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U.S. Stocks Fall Most Since November on Italian Elections

U.S. stocks fell, giving benchmark indexes their biggest losses since November, as partial election results spurred concern about prospects for a stable government in Italy and a worsening of Europe’s debt crisis.
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Singapore’s Darwinian Budget Sparks Employer Ire: Southeast Asia

Singapore tightened curbs on foreign labor for a fourth straight year and unveiled measures that will raise wage costs for companies through 2015, as the government steps up efforts to increase productivity among businesses.
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Pope Struggling to Tame Intrigue Won’t Release Dossier

Pope Benedict XVI, struggling to tame intrigue, won’t give cardinals access to a secret Vatican dossier into leaked papal documents before they meet next month to elect his successor.
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Singapore to Raise Property Tax Rates for Luxury Homeowners

Singapore plans to raise taxes for luxury homeowners and investment properties, widening a four- year campaign to curb speculation after prices in Asia’s second- most expensive housing market rose to a record.
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Glencore’s CEO Says Rival Mining Chiefs ‘Really Screwed Up’

Glencore International Plc’s billionaire Chief Executive Officer Ivan Glasenberg criticized his recently departed mining CEO peers for swamping the industry with mines and new production that’s crimped profits.
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Gold Bets Cut by Most Since 2007 as Sugar Bears Grow

Hedge funds cut bets on a rally in gold by the most since 2007 and became the most bearish ever on sugar and coffee as concern that the Federal Reserve will slow U.S. stimulus programs drove prices for raw materials to the biggest loss this year.
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Monti Braces for Popular Test of Investor-Backed Austerity

Mario Monti, the university president appointed to run Italy at the height of Europe’s financial crisis 15 months ago, gets his final grade from voters today. He already won a stamp of approval from investors.
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Osborne Keeps Austerity as Investors Discount Downgrade

U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne won’t bow to opposition calls to change economic plans after the decision by Moody’s Investors Service to strip the U.K. of its Aaa status.
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Yen Drops to Near 3-Year Low on BOJ Bets; Pound Slides

The yen dropped to the weakest since May 2010 against the dollar on speculation Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will select Haruhiko Kuroda to be the next central bank governor, seen as a supporter of aggressive monetary easing.
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Pistorius to Hear Magistrate Bail Decision in Murder Case

The magistrate in Oscar Pistorius’s bail hearing will present his ruling this afternoon on whether the double-amputee track star will be released from police custody pending a murder trial.
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AIG Jumps on Surprise Operating Profit as Investments Gain

American International Group Inc., the insurer that repaid a U.S. bailout, gained in early trading as fourth-quarter results beat analysts’ estimates after investments drove a surprise operating profit.
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Twin Bombs Show India Vulnerable 4 Years After Mumbai Siege

India’s deadliest bombing in almost two years killed 16 people in Hyderabad, revealing the country’s vulnerability to attack and posing the latest test for a home minister already under fire for his handling of terrorism.
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Sony Unveils PlayStation 4 in Bid to Revive Console Sales

Sony Corp. unveiled the PlayStation 4, its first video-game console in seven years, introducing new cloud and social-media features as Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai seeks to reignite sales.
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World Powers See Progress on Iran With New Nuclear Offer

The five United Nations Security Council permanent members and Germany anticipate making progress with a new offer to Iran to resolve the dispute about its nuclear program in talks next week.
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Bulgaria Heads to Early Poll as Premier Borissov Departs

Bulgarian lawmakers approved the resignation of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, moving the nation toward early elections after protests sparked street violence in the European Union’s poorest member.
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Rio’s Mongolia Copper Dream Awakens 20-Year-Old Nightmare

Rio Tinto Group’s Mongolia copper and gold mine looks a dream location sitting next to China, the biggest market. Yet, Mongolia’s bid for more control of the project draws comparison with a Rio mine that went badly wrong.
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Dell Sales Top Estimates as Company Prepares for Buyout

Dell Inc., the personal-computer maker planning to go private in a $24.4 billion deal, reported sales and profit that topped analysts’ estimates, reflecting server and software demand from companies even as PC sales drop.
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Lufthansa Scraps Payout Amid $12 Billion Jet-Order Plans

Deutsche Lufthansa AG plans to suspend its dividend for the first time since 2010 to preserve cash as the German airline rejuvenates the fleet and pushes ahead with its most ambitious cost-savings program to date.
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Staples May Be Winner in Office Depot-OfficeMax Merger

When two companies merge to take on a market leader, the big kid on the block often suffers.
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Pistorius Argued With Girlfriend Before Shots: Prosecutor

Oscar Pistorius, the South African double amputee track star, argued with girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp before shooting her dead and investigators found testosterone and needles at his home, prosecutors said.
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Oscar Pistorius Disputes Charge He Murdered Girlfriend

Oscar Pistorius, the South African gold-medal winning Paralympian, denied he planned the murder of his girlfriend, saying he shot her through a locked bathroom door thinking she was a burglar.
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Office Depot, OfficeMax Said to Discuss Merger Under Pressure

Office Depot Inc. and OfficeMax Inc. are discussing a merger with a deal possible this week, said a person familiar with the matter.
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Reader’s Digest Brand is Key to Strategy in Bankruptcy

Exploiting Reader’s Digest’s iconic brand is the latest strategy for its private equity owners, who put the 91-year-old publisher into bankruptcy to shed $465 million in debt as consumers shift to electronic media.
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Saxo Bank CEO Says Euro Is Doomed as Currency Woes Resurface

Lars Seier Christensen, co-chief executive officer of Danish bank Saxo Bank A/S, said the euro’s recent rally is illusory and the shared currency is set to fail because the continent hasn’t supported it with a fiscal union.
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European Stocks Fall as Metals Slide; Yen Drops on G-20 Meeting

European stocks fell for a third day and industrial metals slid, while the yen weakened after the Group of 20 nations refrained from censuring Japan’s currency policy.
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Debt Bubble Born of Easy Cash Prompts Swedish Rule Review

Sweden’s financial regulator says it’s ready to tighten restrictions on mortgage lending to stop banks feeding household debt loads after a cap imposed during the crisis failed to stem credit growth.
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Malaysia’s Election Faces Scrutiny After Australian Expelled

Malaysia’s deportation of an Australian lawmaker who criticized its democracy may increase global scrutiny of an election set to determine whether the ruling alliance can maintain its 55-year grip on power.
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Hollywood Snubs Best Film as ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ Odds Fade

“Zero Dark Thirty,” the best- reviewed film of 2012, has become an Oscar longshot because of a political backlash in Hollywood over its depiction of torture in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.
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Meteor Blast Smashes Glass, Injures About 1,000 in Russia

A meteor exploded in the skies above Russia’s Ural Mountains, sending shock waves that broke windows, injuring people across the area hours before an asteroid half the size of a football field was due to pass the Earth.
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Gold Bears Braced for U.S. to China Growth Recovery: Commodities

Gold traders are the most bearish in more than a year on mounting speculation that improving economic growth from the U.S. to China will curb demand for this year’s worst-performing precious metal.
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Chavez Using Breathing Tube as Venezuela Publishes Photos

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is using a breathing tube that makes it difficult for him to speak, Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said today as he released the first images of the cancer-stricken leader since Dec. 10.
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Republicans See Obama Second-Term Agenda as Dead in Water

President Barack Obama called for a higher minimum wage and stricter gun laws, proposed making preschool available to all 4-year-olds, and asked Congress to rewrite U.S. immigration law.
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Fat-Cat Pay Makes Swiss So Mad Wages Face National Vote

Swiss company chief executive officers, including Roche Holding AG’s Severin Schwan and Nestle SA’s Paul Bulcke, earn some of the world’s highest salaries. That may soon change.
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Apple Said to Have Team Developing Wristwatch Computer

Apple Inc. has a team of about 100 product designers working on a wristwatch-like device that may perform some of the tasks now handled by the iPhone and iPad, two people familiar with the company’s plans said.
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Buyout-Boom Shakeout Seen Leaving One in Four to Starve

Private equity, an investing trade plied by 4,500 firms with $3 trillion in assets, is bracing for a shakeout that’s been brewing since the collapse of credit markets choked off a record leveraged-buyout binge.
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Samsung Girds for Life After Apple in Disruption Devotion

Samsung Electronics Co.’s reclusive chairman has long warned employees against complacency and obsolescence.
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G-7 Roils Currency Markets With Split on Concern Over Yen

Group of Seven policy makers roiled the currency markets they sought to calm amid conflicting messages on how much of an economic threat is posed by the weakening yen.
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Next Pope to Face Calls for Renewal After Benedict Resisted

In the Italian film “Habemus Papam,” a newly elected pope is so overwhelmed by the job that he scales the Vatican walls and resigns.
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Tesla CEO Clashes With New York Times Over Model S Review

Elon Musk, the billionaire chief executive officer of Tesla Motors Inc. said a range test of the Model S electric sedan by the New York Times was “fake” as the reporter didn’t disclose all the details of his drive.
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Three Dead in Delaware Courthouse Shooting in Wilmington

Three people were shot to death in a Delaware courthouse, including the gunman, in a confrontation that a state official said grew out of a custody dispute.
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Putin Turns Black Gold to Bullion as Russia Outbuys World

When Vladimir Putin says the U.S. is endangering the global economy by abusing its dollar monopoly, he’s not just talking. He’s betting on it.
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Europe Stocks Fall With Spain Bonds; Yen, Soybeans Slide

European stocks fell with Spanish and Italian bonds as the region’s finance ministers prepared to meet to discuss aid to Cyprus and Greece. U.S. equity-index futures gained, the yen weakened and soybeans declined.
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Euro Ministers Seek New Crisis Momentum as Unrest Returns

European finance chiefs will seek to win back crisis-management momentum to navigate through emerging political pitfalls after markets signaled last week that the three-year crisis is far from over.
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Hermes $10,000 Birkin Purse Seen Leading to Record Sales

For decades, fashionistas have known that a Birkin bag is a safe style bet -- if you can get your hands on one. That demand makes its producer, Hermes International SCA, the surest bet in the luxury industry when it comes to sales growth.
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Blizzard Dumps Snow in Northeast, Knocks Out Power

More than two feet of snow fell on parts of the U.S. Northeast as high winds left hundreds of thousands of people in the region without power, closed highways and forced the cancellation of 4,700 flights.
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Oil Exports Trim U.S. Deficit as Fuel Gap Shrinks: Economy

Record petroleum exports helped shrink the U.S. trade deficit in December to the smallest in almost three years as America moved closer to energy self- sufficiency, a goal the nation has been pursuing since the 1973 Arab oil embargo.
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Chavez Risks Backlash as Venezuelan Deficit Prompts Devaluation

Venezuela devalued its currency for the fifth time in nine years, a move that may undermine support for ailing President Hugo Chavez and his allies ahead of possible elections later this year.
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Apple With $137 Billion in Cash Considers Preferred Stock: Tech

As Apple Inc. discusses ways to disburse some of its $137.1 billion in cash to shareholders, it will have to weigh the appeal of preferred shares against the higher dividends and buybacks favored by many investors.
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Buffett’s Son Says He’s Prepared Whole Life for Berkshire Role

Howard Buffett said following his billionaire father, Warren, as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will require upholding practices that have been prized for decades as the company grew to $240 billion in market value.
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Asteroid to Traverse Earth’s Satellite Zone, NASA Says

An asteroid half the size of a U.S. football field will pass between Earth and orbiting satellites next week, sparing the human race from the fate suffered by dinosaurs, NASA said.
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Brent at Nine-Month High on China; Goldman Sees Tight Supply

Brent crude, headed for a fourth weekly advance, climbed to a nine-month high in London after stronger-than-expected trade data from China, the world’s second-biggest user.
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‘Historic Winter Storm’ Moving Toward U.S. Northeast

A “potential historic winter storm” and blizzard may dump 2 feet of snow on Boston and eastern Massachusetts, potentially causing power outages and leaving 10 inches in New York City.
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Dell Taken Private as PC Slump Hastens $24 Billion Buyout

Dell Inc. is going private in a $24.4 billion leveraged buyout that signals the waning of the personal-computer industry it once dominated.
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RBS Fined $612M by Regulators for Manipulating Libor Rate

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Britain’s biggest publicly owned lender, will pay about $612 million in fines for manipulating interest rates, the second- largest penalty imposed in a global regulatory probe.
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Youngest American Woman Billionaire Found With In-N-Out

Lunchtime at the flagship In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Baldwin Park, California, is a study in efficiency. As the order line swells, smiling workers swoop in to operate empty cash registers. Another staffer cleans tables, asking customers if they’re enjoying their hamburger. Outside, a woman armed with a hand-held ordering machine speeds up the drive-through line.
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Dell Board Said to Vote Monday Night on $24 Billion LBO

Dell Inc.’s board was planning to meet last night to vote on an offer to take the company private for about $24 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said.
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Rove’s Move Into Republican Primaries Enrages Tea Party

Leaders of the anti-tax Tea Party are fuming about plans by some Republican strategists, including Karl Rove, to tap the party’s wealthy donors and raise money to help “electable” candidates win primary races.
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Obama Says U.S. Needs Revenue Along With Spending Cuts

President Barack Obama said there is “no doubt” the government needs new revenue from closing tax “loopholes” and limiting deductions, along with enacting spending cuts, to reduce the federal deficit.
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Super Bowl Ads Face Off on Twitter in Online Brand Battle

A stolen prom kiss and speeding showgirls competed against an unexpected blackout and a clever Oreo post for online fans as the Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.
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Euro Weakens as Spanish Bonds Drop; Stocks, Oil Retreat

The euro weakened and Spanish bond yields climbed to a six-week high. Oil fell after the longest rally since 2004 while stocks and U.S. equity-index futures retreated before a report on American factory orders.
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Euro Tremors Risk Market Respite on Spain-Italy, Banks

Europe’s political tremors risk spoiling the region’s market calm, with corruption allegations buffeting Spanish Premier Mariano Rajoy and Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi narrowing the front-runner’s lead as elections loom.
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European Snub of 4G Prices Spurs Rate Cuts

Europe’s wireless carriers are falling behind their U.S. rivals in efforts to boost tariffs as they introduce faster service, with price cuts in France and Britain indicating phone bills will shrink further.
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Bulls Rewarded With Best January Rally Since 2006: Commodities

Speculators increased their bullish commodity wagers for a third straight week before prices capped the biggest January rally since 2006 on signs that the global recovery will be sustained by central bank stimulus.
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Obama Skeet-Shooting Photograph Released by White House

The White House released a photograph yesterday of President Barack Obama skeet shooting at Camp David last August after some Republicans expressed doubts that the Democratic president had engaged in the activity.
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U.S. Stocks Rally as Dow Climbs Above 14,000 on Jobs Data

U.S. stocks rallied, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 14,000 for the first time in five years, as data on the labor market and manufacturing boosted confidence in the world’s biggest economy.
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Harvard Students Forced to Withdraw in Cheating Scandal

More than half of the students implicated in a Harvard University cheating scandal that involved about 125 undergraduates were told to withdraw for as long as a year.
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Larger Payroll Gains Signal U.S. Job Market Healing: Economy

January’s increase in employment and revisions showing even bigger gains in prior months point to a healing in the U.S. job market that will help consumers better cope with a higher payroll tax.
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Deutsche Bank Avoiding Capital Increase as Jain Sees Pain

Deutsche Bank AG co-Chief Executive Officer Anshu Jain is instilling confidence in shareholders that he’s able to restructure Europe’s biggest lender by assets without asking them to pay for it.
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BlackBerry 10’s Debut Fizzles as U.S. Buyers Left Waiting

Even Alicia Keys couldn’t get investors excited about the debut of the newest BlackBerry.
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Democrats Press on Immigration as Obama Courts Businesses

Pressing to move quickly to rewrite the nation’s immigration laws, Democratic leaders began setting a strategy to advance legislation as the White House worked to rally business support.
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