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BHP Billiton Profit Rises After Year-Earlier Charges (Update1) BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, said first-half profit more than doubled after one-time charges for closing mines and plants in Australia and the U.S. crimped earnings a year earlier.

Commonwealth Bank Net Rises on Fewer Defaults, Market Recovery Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the nation’s biggest lender, said fiscal first-half profit climbed 13 percent as fewer customers defaulted on loans and global markets recovered.

Baidu Forecast Tops Estimates as Google Considers Exiting China Baidu Inc., operator of China’s most popular Internet search engine, forecast first-quarter sales that topped analysts’ estimates after rival Google Inc. said it may exit the world’s largest Web market.

Chevron Says Conflict Taints Amazon Pollution Report (Update1) Chevron Corp. said a report proposing that the company pay $27 billion for alleged environmental damage in Ecuador should be thrown out because the court- appointed author owns a cleanup company and didn’t disclose his conflict of interest.

Michelle Obama Begins Campaign Against Child Obesity (Update1) First lady Michelle Obama began a nationwide campaign today against childhood obesity, urging that American kids get more exercise and eat better-balanced meals.

Equities, Euro, Commodities Rally on Prospects for Greek Aid Stocks rallied, with emerging-market equities recovering from the worst three-day slide in a year, and the euro and commodities gained as European officials said they were considering financial assistance for Greece. Treasuries tumbled, while Greek bonds surged.

XL Fourth-Quarter Loss Narrows as Investment Results Improve XL Capital Ltd., the insurer that gained the most in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index last year, reported a narrower fourth-quarter loss on improved investment results.

MetLife Said to Weigh $8 Billion in Stock for AIG (Update2) MetLife Inc. may use stock to pay for more than half of the planned $15 billion purchase of an American International Group Inc. life insurance unit, said three people with knowledge of the matter.

Washington Offices, NYC Schools Close as Storm Looms (Update2) The U.S. House of Representatives has canceled votes for the week, hundreds of flights have been scrubbed and Amtrak still isn’t running a full schedule as a “paralyzing” storm packing as much as 20 inches of snow bears down on the East Coast.

Disney Profit Tops Analysts’ Estimates on TV Gains, Theme Parks Walt Disney Co., the world’s biggest media company, reported fiscal first-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates as TV revenue rose and theme-park results stabilized.

Obama Calls for Bipartisan Agreement on Jobs, Deficit (Update4) President Barack Obama told Democratic and Republican congressional leaders the public is “frustrated” with the stalemate in Washington and challenged lawmakers to approve a jobs bill and take “concrete” steps to reduce the deficit.

Walt Disney Posts First-Quarter Adjusted EPS 47c; Est. 38c Walt Disney Co., the world’s biggest media company, posted adjusted first-quarter profit of 47 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimated average earnings of 38 cents.

Weight-Loss Surgery May Help Severely Obese Teens, Study Finds Weight-loss surgery was more effective at slimming severely obese teens and improving their health than two years of diet and exercise, a study found.

Madison Williams Hires Five From Oppenheimer to Expand Trading Madison Williams & Co., an investment bank spun off from Sanders Morris Harris Group Inc. in December, hired five former Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. employees to expand trading in New York and Connecticut and in industries such as health care.

Vodafone Says No Plans to Pursue Kabel Deutschland Transaction Vodafone Group Plc said it doesn’t plan to pursue a transaction with Kabel Deutschland Gmbh.

N.J.’s Christie Said to Plan Freezing Some School Aid (Update1) New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will announce plans to freeze part of $3.5 billion in unspent aid to public schools to help close a $2 billion hole in the state’s budget, according to two people who have spoken with administration officials about the proposal.

Paulson Tells Buffett Banks to Repay ‘Every Penny’ (Update2) Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, responding to a question from billionaire Warren Buffett, said the U.S. government will be repaid in full for the funds it put into the country’s lenders.

Rajaratnam, Chiesi to Turn Over Wiretaps, Judge Says (Update1) Galleon Group LLC founder Raj Rajaratnam must surrender to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission wiretap recordings that he got from prosecutors in his insider trading case.

Labor Relations Nominee Becker May Be Blocked in Senate Vote President Barack Obama’s nomination of a union lawyer to the National Labor Relations Board may be defeated after a Democratic senator aligned with dissenters and the largest U.S. business-lobbying group rallied opposition.

Jobs Legislation to Be Introduced in Senate Today (Update3) Senate Democrats said they will push for passage this week of a U.S. job-creation plan that includes a payroll tax holiday for companies that hire unemployed workers and $20 billion for highway construction.

Pimco Adds to Poland Holdings on Greece, Gomez Says (Update2) Pacific Investment Management Co., manager of the world’s biggest bond fund, added to its holding of Polish debt today amid signs that Greece will receive a bailout package, said Michael Gomez, the firm’s co-head of emerging markets.

Google Buzz Social-Networking Feature Added to Gmail (Update2) Google Inc., the world’s most popular search engine, added a social-networking feature to its Gmail e- mail software, taking on market leader Facebook Inc.

Corporate Credit Risk Falls Amid Prospects of Greece Support The cost to protect against defaults on U.S. corporate bonds fell as the likelihood grew that the European Union would help Greece through its budget crisis.

Nokia, Microsoft, Amazon Sued on Translation Patents (Update1) Nokia Corp., Microsoft Corp., and Amazon.com Inc. were sued by a closely held company which claims they used two patents used for translating Java code for specific computers.

Wal-Mart, Amazon.com Lead 2.6% Jump in Web Retail (Update1) Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. led a rebound in U.S. online shopping in the fourth quarter as they gained market share over smaller competitors, researcher ComScore Inc. said.

European Officials Consider Greek Bailout on Budget (Update1) European officials said they are considering assistance for Greece as its struggle to contain the European Union’s highest budget deficit threatens to erode confidence in the euro.

Toyota Faces U.S. Recall Inquiries as Washington Lobbying Force Toyota Motor Corp. is armed with one of the auto industry’s biggest lobbying budgets as it faces U.S. government and congressional inquiries into millions of vehicles recalled for sudden acceleration.

Toyota Corolla Complaints Being Reviewed By U.S. (Update2) Toyota Motor Corp.’s Corolla, the world’s best-selling car, is being reviewed by the U.S. after driver complaints about steering, according to a government spokeswoman.

Toyota Extends Recalls to Prius Hybrids to Fix Brake Software Toyota Motor Corp. will recall 437,000 Prius and other hybrid cars globally to fix faulty braking systems on four models, adding to almost 8 million vehicles the company is repairing for separate defects.

Germany Weighing Support for Greece, Lawmakers Say (Update1) Germany is considering assistance for Greece after the country’s fiscal woes threatened the stability of the euro and financial markets, two lawmakers from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governing coalition said.

Greece’s Papaconstantinou Unveils Tax Overhaul to Boost Revenue Greece’s government announced an overhaul of the tax system, including higher levies on dividends, and reiterated a pledge to freeze wages of public workers to rein in the European Union’s biggest budget deficit.

Vodafone Said to Bid for German Cable Company Kabel Deutschland Vodafone Group Plc is bidding for Germany’s largest cable operator Kabel Deutschland GmbH, challenging private-equity firms, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Greek Bonds Surge as EU’s Rehn Offers ‘Support in Broad Sense’ Greek bonds jumped after the European Union signaled it may aid Greece in return for progress by the country in reducing the bloc’s biggest budget deficit.

BA Business-Class-Only Carrier Adds Paris-U.S. Route (Update1) British Airways Plc’s business-class- only subsidiary OpenSkies will add flights to Washington and target profitability by 2013 after its parent company turned down five offers for the Paris-based carrier, Managing Director Dale Moss said in an interview.

Euro Surges Against Dollar as EU Signals Support for Greece The euro rose the most in more than five months versus the dollar as European Union officials held out the prospect of aiding Greece if the country made progress in reducing its budget deficit.

Summers Says He’s Optimistic Congress Will Pass Job-Growth Bill White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers said today he is “optimistic” that Congress will pass legislation this year aimed at job creation.

U.S. Postal Service Logs $297 Million Quarterly Loss (Update1) The U.S. Postal Service said its net loss narrowed to $297 million in the fiscal first quarter as it trimmed expenses to account for a drop in mail volume.

U.S. Says North Korea Must Act on Nuclear Pledge (Update2) The U.S. said North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s declaration that he is committed to shelving the country’s nuclear weapons program must be followed by action to rejoin international negotiations.

Connecticut’s Blumenthal Urges Senate to Create Consumer Agency Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said the U.S. Senate must create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency to prevent recurrence of banking-industry excesses that pushed the economy to the brink of collapse.

‘Blind Pools’ Falter as Ziman, Callahan Plan Comeback (Update1) Richard Ziman and Timothy Callahan want to raise money in the equity market after selling their real estate companies for a combined $12 billion before the property crash. Investors may balk at bankrolling their return.