Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Germany Put Joint Euro Bonds in 'Broom Closet,' Merkel Ally Says. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government takes credit for quashing debate about joint euro- area bonds as part of its drive to make countries reduce debt, said Peter Altmaier, a senior coalition lawmaker. “We have shoved the debate on euro bonds where it belongs now and for the foreseeable future: into the broom closet,” Altmaier, the parliamentary whip for Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, told reporters in Berlin today.
• Ireland to Hold Vote on EU Fiscal Compact. Ireland will hold a referendum to ratify the European fiscal compact, after government ministers said such a vote would effectively amount to a show of commitment to the euro.
• Kraemer Says Greek Debt Swap May Impede Portugal Selling Bonds. Moritz Kraemer, head of sovereign ratings at S&P, said the terms of Greece's debt restructuring and teh ECB's move to isolate itself from any resulting losses may make it harder for other indebted euro nations such as Portugal to raise financing. "Some of the decisions that have been taken recently may make re-accessing the capital markets harder, rather than easier," Kraemer said in an interview with Bloomberg. "Many of these decisions may actually make it harder for countries like Portugal to return to the markets."
• JPMorgan(JPM) Says Credit, Swaps Lead Trading-Revenue Sources in Rare Breakdown. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) said interest- rate swaps and credit are among the biggest sources of revenue in its trading businesses, as it broke with most U.S. rivals by releasing a breakdown typically kept secret. JPMorgan generates $375 million from credit trading in a “typical quarter” and $350 million each from interest-rate swaps and foreign-exchange spot and futures trading, the New York-based bank said today in a presentation to investors. Cash equities produces about $325 million, while the bank gets $300 million a quarter from asset-backed securities.
• China's Iron Ore Imports May Drop 14%. Higher iron ore prices and rising competition have cut profit margins for Chinese steelmakers to a record low of 0.43 percent in November, according to the China Iron and Steel Association. Ore prices rose for a sixth straight day yesterday after China’s central bank cut reserve requirements by a half- point on Feb. 18, spurring lending.
• Banks' Earnings Rose 23% on Loan-Loss Provisions, FDIC Says. U.S. lenders had net income of $26.3 billion in the fourth quarter, increasing earnings by 23.1 percent over the same period in 2010 on lower provisions for loan losses, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said today. Lenders put aside 12.1 percent of net operating revenue for bad loans, and charge-offs fell by 40 percent to the lowest level since the first quarter of 2008, the FDIC said in its Quarterly Banking Profile released in Washington. Loan losses fell to $25.4 billion, the lowest in 15 quarters, the FDIC said. Full-year earnings reached $119.5 billion, the highest since 2006, the agency said. “Gains have been driven by reductions in provisions for loan losses, and that can’t go on indefinitely,” FDIC Acting Chairman Martin Gruenberg said in a briefing with reporters. “The real key is going to have to be a pickup in lending.”
• EPA Greenhouse Gas Limits Face Appeals Court Challenge Over Public Danger. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s limits on vehicle and industrial emissions of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide are being scrutinized by U.S. judges as a two-day court hearing began in Washington. The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals is considering challenges to the agency’s finding that greenhouse gases are pollutants that endanger human health, and to rules determining when states and industries must comply with regulations curtailing their use. Companies such as Massey Energy Co., business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and states led by Texas and Virginia are seeking to stop the agency through more than 60 lawsuits. They argue that the agency relied on biased data from outside scientists, including some affiliated with the so-called climategate scandal.
• Obama Skirts Deadlock With Executive Orders Favoring Allies. President Barack Obama is targeting the concerns of political constituencies pivotal to his re- election one signature at a time. Stymied in Congress by Republican opposition, Obama has used his executive power in recent months to issue a battery of presidential directives aimed at goals of Democratic-leaning interest groups and voters in battleground states.
• U.S. Durable Goods Orders Slump Most in 3 Years. Orders for U.S. durable goods fell in January by the most in three years, led by a slowdown in demand for commercial aircraft and business equipment. Bookings (DGNOCHNG) for goods meant to last at least three years slumped 4 percent, more than forecast, after a revised 3.2 percent gain the prior month, data from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Economists projected a 1 percent decline, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey.
• Consumer Confidence Rises to One-Year High. Confidence among U.S. consumers climbed to a 12-month high in February, signaling household spending will help sustain the expansion. The Conference Board’s index increased more than forecast, to 70.8 from 61.5 in January, figures from the New York-based private research group showed today. Economists projected the gauge would climb to 63, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey.
• Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Decline 4%. Home prices in 20 U.S. cities dropped more than forecast in December to the lowest level since the housing crisis began in mid-2006, indicating foreclosures are hampering the industry’s recovery. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities fell 4 percent from a year earlier, after decreasing 3.9 percent in November, a report from the group showed today in New York. The median forecast of 31 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 3.7 percent decline.
• Oil Declines in New York as Durable Goods Orders Fall Most in Three Years. Oil fell for a second day after U.S. orders for durable goods dropped in January by the most in three years, signaling slower economic growth and lower fuel demand. Futures declined as much as 2.1 percent in New York as data from the Commerce Department showed bookings for goods meant to last at least three years slumped 4 percent.
• Gold Gains in New York on US Dollar Weakness. Gold advanced to a three-month high and silver posted its biggest gain in eight weeks as investors bought precious metals as an alternative to a weakening dollar. Platinum and palladium also rose. Gold futures for April delivery advanced 0.8 percent to settle at $1,788.40 an ounce at 1:30 p.m. on the Comex in New York, after climbing to $1,792.70, the highest level for a most- active contract since Nov. 14. Prices are up 14 percent this year after a 10 percent increase in 2011, the 11th consecutive annual gain, as investors sought to diversify from equities and some currencies. The dollar index has declined 1.2 percent this month while gold advanced 2.8 percent.
• IBM(IBM) Cuts More Than 1,000 Workers, Group Says. International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), the world’s largest computer-services provider, fired more than 1,000 workers in North America this week, according to an employee advocacy group.

Wall Street Journal:

• Occupy Groups Get Funding. A group of business leaders—including Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and former Nirvana manager Danny Goldberg—are planning to pour substantial funds into the Occupy Wall Street movement in hopes of sustaining the protests and fostering political change. Their goal is to provide some ballast to an amorphous movement that captured the world's attention with nonstop, overnight protests in dozens of cities but has had trouble regaining momentum since most of those encampments were broken up by police in the past few months. The latest Occupy supporters call themselves the Movement Resource Group and have raised about $300,000 so far to parcel out in grants to protesters, said Mr. Cohen. Their goal is to raise $1.8 million. A little more than two-thirds was donated by the Ben & Jerry's Foundation and members of the group's steering committee, which includes Dal Lamagna, founder of the company Tweezerman, entertainment-industry executive Richard Foos and Judy Wicks, founder of the White Dog Café in Philadelphia, along with Messrs. Cohen, Greenfield and Goldberg. The remainder—about $60,000—came from individual donors, including Norman Lear, a television producer and philanthropist, and Terri Gardner, former president and chief executive of Soft Sheen hair products. "Many of us have been working for progressive social change," Mr. Cohen, a prominent supporter of liberal causes, said Monday. "There's been a critical ingredient missing."
• Paulson: More Likely Than Not That Euro 'Falls Apart'. Billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson, who wrongly bet on a stable economic recovery especially in the U.S., is now positioning for lingering woes in the euro zone, if not a complete breakdown of the currency. "It is certainly possible that the status quo can be extended indefinitely with continued bailouts, transfer payments and the European Central Bank's quantitative easing, but it seems more likely that the pressure to keep the Euro together becomes too great and it ultimately falls apart," he said in a letter to investors.
• Focus Turns Now to Greek CDS Payouts. An unidentified market participant has asked a committee of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association to rule on whether the passage of legislation approving collective-action clauses for Greek debt should trigger payouts on credit-default swaps tied to Greek sovereign bonds. The move comes after Standard & Poor's cut Greece's long-term credit rating to selective default from double-C, making Greece the first euro-zone member officially to be rated in default, 13 years after the euro was adopted to strengthen the European Union.
• Fatal Riots Erupt in China's Xinjiang. At least 12 people were killed during riots in China's far-western Xinjiang region on Tuesday, according to Chinese state media, in what appeared to be the most severe uptick in unrest in the restive area since last summer. The state-run Xinhua news agency reported that angry mobs killed 10 people in Yecheng County, in Kashgar prefecture. At least two suspected assailants were killed by police, Xinhua said, and authorities were continuing to search for other suspects Tuesday evening.
• U.N. Boost Syria Death Toll, Amid Conflicting Reports of Evacuations. The United Nations raised the death toll in Syria to 7,500 people and called for an immediate cease-fire, as conflicting reports emerged about efforts to rescue injured foreign journalists trapped in the besieged city of Homs.

CNBC.com:

• OPEC Leaders Are 'Laughing at Us': Donald Trump. (video) The leaders of OPEC are "sitting around their table, setting the price of oil and laughing at us because we have no leadership," real estate mogul Donald Trump told CNBC Tuesday.

Business Insider:

• The LTRO Bubble Has Popped, And Europe Is About To Find Itself In A World Of Trouble.
• Obama's FATCA Legislation Has Officially Killed Banking Privacy.
• Goldman Explains Why We Have No Idea What Really Happens When Gas Hits $4/Gallon.
  

Zero Hedge:

• Greek Colonization 102: Europe Calls for Reconstruction Commissioner In Athens.

Gallup:

• Gallup Daily, Obama Job Approval: 43% Approve, 50% Disapprove. (graph)
  

9to5Mac:

• Sources: New Apple(AAPL) TV Launching in March, Near-Immediately Availability Hinted for New iPads. Reliable sources familiar with Apple’s upcoming product release have said that the company is in fact launching a new Apple TV alongside the next-generation iPad.

Reuters:

• Brazil Lending Falls for First Time in Three Years. Bank lending in Brazil contracted in January for the first time in almost three years while more consumers and companies fell behind on their loan installments, in another sign of the abrupt slowdown afflicting Latin America's largest economy. Outstanding loans in Brazil's banking system fell 0.2 percent in January from December, the first month-on-month drop since the 0.02 percent decline recorded in February 2009, the central bank said on Tuesday.
• Top Republican Raises Heat on Obama in Keystone Letter. The top Republican in Congress wrote to President Barack Obama on Tuesday to urge him to "change course" and approve a controversial oil pipeline, seeking to keep up election-year pressure on the Democrat amid rising gasoline prices. U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner also said Obama should fulfill his promise of an "all of the above" approach to ease U.S. dependence on foreign oil and drop opposition to legislation expanding domestic production.

Telegraph:

• Big Trouble in China for Big Four Auditors. The "Big Four" auditors face being squeezed out of the Chinese market after a spate of high-profile accounting scandals sparked a backlash against international firms in China.

Maerkische Allgemeine:

• Greece may require additional support beyond the second bailout package, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who also heads the group of euro-area finance ministers, said in an interview.

Die Welt:

• Large banks won't lend money to Greece anytime soon, given the losses they've incurred, citing a confidential report by the Institute of International Finance. The financial industry may also be less willing to lend to Portugal, Ireland and Spain in the coming months, given that these countries are struggling to meet savings goals, citing the report.