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U.K. Manufacturing Drops for First Time Since August (Update1) U.K. factory production unexpectedly fell in January for the first time in five months, a sign manufacturing is struggling to shake off the recession.

Citigroup Selling TruPS After Repaying Bailout: Credit Markets Citigroup Inc., seeking capital after repaying bailout funds to the Treasury, is selling trust preferred securities as rising investor demand drives borrowing costs to near the lowest in almost five years.

BA, American, Iberia Airline Alliance Commitments Tested by EU British Airways Plc, AMR Corp.’s American Airlines and Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA offered to give up takeoff and landing slots in the U.S and U.K. to win approval for their proposed trans-Atlantic alliance, the European Commission said today.

Myners Says U.K. Banks Must Disclose More Details on Banker Pay The U.K. intends to force banks to increase disclosure on compensation, lowering the bar on reporting bonuses to 500,000 pounds ($746,000) from 1 million pounds, U.K. Treasury Minister Paul Myners said.

China Mobile to Buy $5.8 Billion Stake in Pudong Bank (Update1) China Mobile Ltd., the world’s biggest phone company by market value, agreed to buy 20 percent of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. for 39.8 billion yuan ($5.8 billion) to expand its electronic payment business.

Tullett Prebon Says It’s in Talks Over Possible Offer (Update1) Tullett Prebon Plc, the London- based inter-dealer broker led by Terry Smith, said it’s in early talks that may lead to an offer for the company.

Greek Crisis Is Over, Rest of Region Safe, Prodi Says (Update1) The worst of Greece’s financial crisis is over and other European nations won’t follow in its path, said former European Commission President Romano Prodi.

Myners Says U.K. Banks Must Disclose More Detail on Bankers’ Pay U.K. Treasury minister Paul Myners said banks may be forced to disclose bonus payments above 500,000 pounds, a further tightening of the rules aimed at policing Britain’s lenders.

Bali Bomber Dulmatin Killed in Raid, Yudhoyono Says (Update2) Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said wanted terrorist leader and suspected Bali bomber Dulmatin was among three people killed in a police raid yesterday near the capital, Jakarta.

Malaysian Stocks to Rise 10% on ‘Currency Game,’ Manulife Says Malaysia’s stock index may rise a further 10 percent in 2010 on the “currency game” as investors buy more equities after the Malaysian ringgit gained the most in Asia this year, Manulife Asset Management (Malaysia) Sdn. said.

Iraqis Maneuver Amid Signs No Party Will Win Majority (Update1) Iraq faces tough political coalition-building as leaders maneuvered amid indications that no party would win a majority when initial results from the parliamentary election are announced.

Emerging-Market Stocks Gain, Erasing 2010 Loss; Yen Weakens Emerging market stocks rose, erasing their 2010 losses, and higher-yielding currencies strengthened against the yen after China said exports soared the most in three years.

Abu Dhabi Hosts Media Chiefs Amid Press Law Debate (Update1) Abu Dhabi, holder of more than 7 percent of the world’s oil, is hosting top media executives this week as it seeks to promote its role as a communications center and ward off criticism over curbs on the press.

E.ON Profit Falls on Higher Debt From Acquisitions (Update1) E.ON AG, Germany’s largest utility, said full-year profit fell 4.8 percent after it took on debt to acquire power plants and add clients.

Fortis Resumes Dividend, Trims Greek Bond Holdings at a Loss Fortis, the owner of Belgium’s biggest life insurer, will resume shareholder payouts after its insurance businesses returned to profit in the second half.

China Export Recovery Adds Pressure to Pare Stimulus (Update1) China’s exports rose more than forecast in February and posted a third straight gain, a rebound that adds to pressure on policy makers to pare back stimulus measures adopted during the global recession.

U.S Stocks to Outperform for Several More Months, Allianz Says The outperformance of U.S. stocks should continue for several more months as the nation’s economy recovers from its worst contraction since the Great Depression, according to Allianz Investment Management.

Cathay Pacific Posts Profit on Capacity, Haeco Sale (Update1) Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., Hong Kong’s biggest carrier, posted a second-half profit after paring capacity and selling a stake in a maintenance venture.

Korean Won May Gain 1.3% to 17-Month High: Technical Analysis The South Korean won will strengthen 1.3 percent in the next one to two weeks as charts indicate further losses for the dollar, said Winston Tang, a technical analyst in Singapore at Forecast Pte.

Brown Calls for National Unity Amid U.K. Public Pay Freeze Prime Minister Gordon Brown will call on Britons to unite behind his government on the day many government staff learn whether their pay has been frozen.

Indian Stocks are Better Long-Term Bet, Franklin Says (Update1) India offers better long-term returns on stocks than China given the outlook for economic growth and corporate earnings, according to Franklin Templeton Investments.

AIG ‘Money in the Door’ Deals Reap $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.

Senate Said to Weigh $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.

Hedge-Fund Losses Show Euro’s Drop Fails to Benefit All 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.

Defaults Signal Bursting Muni Junk Bubble on High-Yield Surge Investors in search of better returns poured $7.8 billion into high-yield municipal bond funds last year, pushing assets to a two-year high. They may start experiencing losses as early as this year as default risks grow.

J&J Pushed Risperdal for Elderly After U.S. Warning, Files Show 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.

Obama Defies Pessimists as Rising 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.

NFL Brain Collector Shows Violence in Slices of Gray Matter Five years of hell ended in a hard death. Those are the widow’s words.

Obama’s Health-Care Push Gets Challenge From Business Coalition President Barack Obama is facing a renewed push against his health-care legislation as a coalition of business groups plans to spend as much as $1 million a day on advertisements to pressure lawmakers into voting “no.”

Buyout Firms Can’t Spend $503 Billion as Fund Deadlines Loom Buyout funds sitting on half a trillion dollars committed by investors may need more than a decade to put the money to work if deals continue at the current pace.

U.S. Senate Set to Vote on Plan to Extend Unemployment Benefits The U.S. Senate is set to approve a $138 billion plan that would extend unemployment benefits through the end of this year after eight Republicans joined Democrats yesterday to end efforts to block the plan.

Apollo Said to Triple Property Assets With Citi Unit Purchase Apollo Management LP agreed to buy Citigroup Inc.’s real estate investment unit in a move that will more than triple the value of the private-equity firm’s property assets, a person with knowledge of the deal said yesterday.

Madoff Victims Join Stanford Investors to Lobby for Payback Victims of Bernard Madoff and accused Ponzi schemer R. Allen Stanford are banding together to lobby Congress for a law that could require Wall Street firms to pay billions of dollars to cover some of the losses they suffered.

Fed’s ‘Extended Period’ Rate Pledge Criticized by Some on FOMC The Federal Reserve’s pledge to keep interest rates close to zero for an “extended period” has come under criticism from policy makers who say it’s restricting their room to maneuver as the economy recovers.

Cathay Pacific Posts Full-Year Net Income of HK$4.69 Billion Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.’s net income for the year ended Dec. 31 was HK$4.69 billion, according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. That compared with the HK$2.25 billion median estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Toyota’s U.S. Sales May Spike 30% This Month, Edmunds.com Says Toyota Motor Corp., battling a two- month slide in U.S. sales amid recalls of millions of vehicles, may post a sales spike this month after introducing an incentive campaign, Edmunds.com said.

Citic Pacific Posts Full Year Net Income of HK$5.95 Billion Citic Pacific Ltd.’s net income for the year ended Dec. 31 was HK$5.95 billion, according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. That compared with the HK$5.48 billion median estimate of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

PCCW Says Chairman Richard Li’s Buyout Plans ‘Dead’ (Update3) PCCW Ltd., linked to a police probe following a court ruling that a buyout bid by Chairman Richard Li had been manipulated, said investors at Hong Kong’s biggest phone company should consider the takeover plan as “dead.”

Canon Says China May Become Top Camera Market in 2015 (Update2) Canon Inc. expects China’s camera market to become the world’s largest as early as 2015, overtaking the U.S., its head of the business said.

Yen Declines to 2-Week Low Against Kiwi on Asia Recovery Signs The yen declined to a two-week low against New Zealand’s dollar on speculation Japan’s economic recovery will lag behind the rest of the Asia-Pacific region.