Russia's FM arrives in Syria for talks with Assad (AP)

AP - Russia says its foreign minister has arrived in Syria for talks with President Bashar Assad.

Nigeria military detains French TV journalists (AP)

AP - Soldiers guarding a city at the heart of ethnic and religious clashes in Nigeria detained and later threw out journalists working for a French television station trying to cover the ongoing unrest there, the reporters said.

US trip of China's next leader: From Obama to Iowa (AP)

AP - In 1985, Xi Jinping led a delegation to Muscatine, Iowa, to study advanced hog-raising techniques. He comes back next week, preparing to lead the world's most populous nation.

(AP)

AP - Russia says its foreign minister has arrived in Syria for talks with President Bashar Assad.

Maldives president resigns after police mutiny (Reuters)

Reuters - Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed resigned on Tuesday after three weeks of opposition-led protests in the Indian Ocean archipelago boiled over into a police mutiny.

Iran: US assets ban "antagonistic," will have no impact (Reuters)

Reuters - Iran on Tuesday denounced as "an antagonistic move" a tightening of U.S. sanctions targeting Tehran's central bank and giving U.S. banks new powers to freeze Iranian government assets, and said it would have no impact.

Greek leaders face crunch talks as unions strike (Reuters)

Reuters - Greek leaders face crunch talks on Tuesday to secure a new international bailout and avoid a chaotic debt default, caught between EU demands that they accept painful reforms now and a national strike against more austerity.

BP hikes dividend after strong fourth quarter (AP)

AP - BP PLC has raised its quarterly dividend by 14 percent after posting double-digit gains in profit and revenue in the last three months of 2011 despite further big payments to compensate for a disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

AP Enterprise: Brown bank regulator an insider (AP)

AP - Gov. Jerry Brown's appointee to head the department that oversees banking, financial and consumer regulations in California led a trade association that fought against tighter lending restrictions before the subprime mortgage crisis exploded and was an executive with Washington Mutual when the now-failed bank was among the most aggressive marketers of loans to high-risk borrowers.

Greek deal hopes lift euro, shares (Reuters)

Reuters - The euro and European stock markets edged higher on Tuesday as traders grew hopeful a resolution could be found to enable a second bailout deal for Greece, although poor results for some top European firms rekindled fears about the impact of the crisis.

Glencore to buy Xstrata in $90 billion deal (Reuters)

Reuters - Commodities trader Glencore agreed an all-share takeover of mining group Xstrata worth $90 billion on Tuesday in the industry's largest ever deal, creating a powerhouse spanning mining, agriculture and trading.

U.S. lifts restrictions to support IFIs work in Myanmar (Reuters)

Reuters - The United States has eased some restrictions on Myanmar to support ongoing work by International Financial Institutions (IFIs) like the Asian Development Bank carrying out economic assessments and technical assistance to its new civilian government.

Could the Wind Turbines of Chile Harm Blue Whales? (Time.com)

Time.com - The energy-starved country needs wind power but environmental critics say it will not only mar the landscape but harm the wildlife

Russians Rally for and Against Putin, Despite an Icy Day (Time.com)

Time.com - The weather was frightful, but tens of thousands of people showed up in Russia's capital for dueling demonstrations -- though one side may have made appearing hard to refuse

BP preparing "vigorously" for oil spill lawsuits (Reuters)

Reuters - BP said it was preparing "vigorously" for lawsuits related to its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which are due to start later this month, as it unveiled a rise in fourth quarter earnings on the back of higher oil prices.

Toyota lifts profit forecast as disaster woes fade (AP)

AP - Toyota's quarterly profit slid 13.5 percent on production setbacks caused by last year's tsunami disaster and the flooding in Thailand, but Japan's top automaker raised its annual earnings forecast, saying a recovery is on track.

Toyota Q3 jumps, sees "tough race" in North America (Reuters)

Reuters - Toyota Motor Corp reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly operating profit and raised its annual forecast on cost cuts and Japanese government subsidies, though this is still some way below analysts' expectations.

Bombardment of Syria's Homs resumes: activists (Reuters)

Reuters - Heavy bombardment of the Syrian city of Homs resumed on Tuesday after at least 95 civilians were killed on Monday in an offensive to put down a popular revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's rule, activists and residents said.

Exclusive: Iran defaults on rice payments to India (Reuters)

Reuters - Iranian buyers have defaulted on payment for about 200,000 tonnes of rice from their top supplier India, exporters and rice millers said on Tuesday, as trade between the two countries comes under mounting pressure from a new wave of Western sanctions against Tehran.

Canada's Harper in China visit focused on energy (AP)

AP - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is visiting China to discuss oil sales and other economic ties following U.S. President Barack Obama's rejection of a pipeline carrying Canadian oil across the continental United States.

Greece caves in on civil service firings (AP)

AP - Greece's coalition government caved in to demands to cut civil service jobs, announcing 15,000 positions would go this year, amid mounting international pressure to agree on austerity measures needed to secure major new debt agreements.

Australia floods fail to dampen big cotton crop (Reuters)

Reuters - Australia's projections for a bumper cotton crop remain on track despite a week-long deluge in major growing regions that forced thousands of residents from their homes and left rivers dangerously swollen.

Brazil: Standoff between striking police, soldiers (AP)

AP - Soldiers clashed with supporters of striking police in Brazil's third-largest city on Monday, firing tear gas and rubber bullets at the feet of people trying to join officers occupying the Bahia state legislature building.

The Worthless Junk the 1 Percent Waste Their Money On (ContributorNetwork)

ContributorNetwork - COMMENTARY | Strictly speaking, the 1 percent -- people whose incomes put them above the other 99 percent of us, starting at about $340,000 a year as of 2009, according to IRS data -- don't actually spend much of their money.

Key states move closer to foreclosure-abuse deal (AP)

AP - California and New York, the key holdouts in a long-awaited settlement over foreclosure abuses, moved closer Monday to backing a deal that would force the five largest mortgage lenders to reduce loans for about 1 million households. More than 40 U.S. states have agreed to a nationwide settlement.

Gold falls as Greek debt crisis back in spotlight (AP)

AP - Gold prices fell Monday as the Greek debt crisis returned to the spotlight, renewing concerns about the impact that Europe's financial troubles could have on the global economy.

Senegalese opposition denounce president's bid for third term (The Christian Science Monitor)

The Christian Science Monitor - The eight candidates came in convoys from their respective corners of Dakar to Obelisk Square in the heart of the Senegalese capital, where crowds of color-coordinated supporters awaited them while listening to political hip-hop anthems in Wolof - the local dialect. A single microphone stood on stage and each of them were introduced as "president" before they took it.

Anti-cuts protests push Romania PM out (Reuters)

Reuters - Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc resigned on Monday, joining a list of European leaders felled by fury at the kind of spending cuts that prompted weeks of mass protests in Bucharest against IMF-backed austerity.

South Africa's cautious UN vote for Syrian action (The Christian Science Monitor)

The Christian Science Monitor - Russia and Chinaâs joint veto of a United Nations resolution urging Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to step down has kicked up a firestorm of criticism from the West and from human rights activists.

Quick end to lockout at Rio's Quebec smelter unlikely (Reuters)

Reuters - Rio Tinto's lockout of workers at its Alcan division's big Alma aluminum smelter in northern Quebec looks set to drag on, and the company said on Monday that no talks were scheduled.

With sparse data, focus returns to Europe (Reuters)

Reuters - Europe will again be at the center of investors' focus this week as the U.S. earnings season passes the halfway mark and there is little on the economic calendar to give the market direction.

Euro zone sales tumble at Christmas, no sign of growth (Reuters)

Reuters - Retail sales in the euro zone tumbled unexpectedly in December, the biggest drop in the Christmas period in three years, data showed on Friday, with rising joblessness and stubborn inflation undercut signs of a stabilization in Europe's economy.