U.S.

Fed Officials Saw `Substantial' Risk to Economy Last Month as Rate Slashed Federal Reserve policy makers saw “substantial” risks to the slumping economy last month as they cut the benchmark interest rate to a record low and pledged to expand emergency loans if necessary.

U.S. Factory Orders, Home Sales Contract as Companies, Consumers Retrench The U.S. economy ended the year in a steep decline, with factory orders, home sales and service industries all contracting further, reports showed today.

Madoff's Sons Told U.S. Prosecutors About Transfer of Jewelry, Lawyer Says The sons of Bernard Madoff, who is accused of running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, told prosecutors last week their father violated a court-ordered asset freeze by mailing them jewelry, watches and other items, his lawyer said.

Stocks in U.S. Gain on Obama Stimulus Plan; Disney, Citigroup Shares Climb U.S. stocks gained, recovering yesterday’s losses, on speculation President-elect Barack Obama’s $775 billion package of tax cuts and government spending will revive the economy.

Apple to Sell ITunes Songs Without Copy Protection, Move to Varied Pricing Apple Inc. will offer all music sold through its iTunes music store without copy protection and will introduce variable pricing for tracks.

Dow Seeks More Than $2.5 Billion From Kuwait After Joint Venture Scrapped Dow Chemical Co., the largest U.S. chemical maker, plans to seek more than $2.5 billion from Kuwait for canceling a joint-venture agreement and will consider a new partner to invest in its basic-plastics business.

Latin America

Brazil, Colombia, Chile to Sell International Bonds as Commodities Tumble Brazil, Colombia and Chile plan to sell bonds in international markets, part of a push by developing nations to bring in dollars to offset a six-month tumble in commodity exports.

Bovespa Index Gains for Sixth Day, Best Win Streak in Year; Ipsa Climbs Brazilian stocks gained for a sixth day, their longest winning streak in almost a year, as commodity prices advanced on speculation government spending will help ease the global recession.

Chilean Consumer Prices Fell 1.2% Last Month, Biggest Decline Since 1966 Chilean consumer prices fell by the most in four decades last month, increasing the scope for the central bank to cut interest rates this week.

Vale Rallies to Highest in 12 Weeks on Speculation of Iron Ore Price Gains Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, the world’s biggest iron ore producer, climbed to the highest in 12 weeks on speculation lower stockpiles of the metal in China will bolster prices as a U.S. stimulus package eases the global recession.

Brazil's Real Advances to 2-Month High as Commodities Gains Spark Inflows Brazil’s real rose to the highest in almost two months as higher commodity prices accelerated trade investment inflows into Latin America’s largest economy.

Chile Will Tap Sovereign Savings, Sell Securities to Spur Economic Growth Chile, the world’s biggest copper supplier, will tap sovereign savings and sell bonds to fund $4 billion in spending as the credit crisis and slumping export demand stifles growth.

Exclusive

Ameriprise Clients Left in Lurch With Paris Hilton Flop Among Rogue Deals Working out of an Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. branch in Orlando, Florida, Christopher Coulther offered his clients a deal that was hard to resist. Promising a 100 percent return on Costa Rican real estate, he enticed 98 people to invest almost $12 million.

Morgan Stanley Loses Ground in M&A Advisory to Moelis, Perella Boutiques Morgan Stanley lost ground counseling companies on takeovers last year as boutique advisory firms Moelis & Co. and Perella Weinberg Partners gained market share in the slowest period for deal-making since 2003.

Coal-Ash Spill May Strip TVA of `Exaggerated Deference' From U.S., States The deluge of ash from a coal-fired power plant that buried 300 acres of eastern Tennessee is sparking new state and federal scrutiny of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the largest U.S. public power company.

Intel Seeking Payoff in 2009 From Push Into Internet-Television Products Intel Corp., resurrecting a stalled bid to make its chips the key component in home-entertainment devices, expects to make headway this year as consumers use their televisions to surf the Web, chat with friends and shop online.

Univision May Lose Top-Rated Shows in Spanish at Televisa Royalties Trial Univision Communications Inc., the largest Spanish-language television network in the U.S., may lose its top-rated prime-time shows in a royalties dispute with Mexico’s Grupo Televisa SA that’s about to go to trial.

Israel Soldiers Train in Fake Gaza to Learn From Lebanon Invasion Failures The mosques, squares and narrow alleyways Israeli troops are fighting through in their invasion of the Gaza Strip should be familiar: Many of the soldiers trained in a mock Arab city built on a base in southern Israel.