U.S.

Yen, Dollar Strengthen as China Inflation at 16-Month High; Kiwi Weakens The yen and dollar rose versus their major counterparts after Chinese reports on inflation, factories and loans fueled concern the government will act to damp growth, boosting demand for the lowest-yielding currencies.

Trade Deficit in U.S. Probably Widened for Third Month as Imports Climbed The U.S. trade deficit probably widened in January for a third month as imports grew faster than exports, pointing to a rebound in global economic growth, economists said before a report today.

Foreclosures in U.S. Rise at Slowest Pace in Four Years on Obama Efforts U.S. foreclosure filings rose at the slowest pace in four years in February as the government sought to reduce record bank seizures, RealtyTrac Inc. said.

Home Equity Loans That Fueled U.S. Consumer Spending Make `Modest' Rebound John Hale’s four-bedroom house near Seattle is worth about $2 million and is 90 percent paid for. It still took him nine months to find a bank that would give him a $250,000 home equity line of credit.

Fed Shoulders AIG Japan Mortgage Losses to Ease Sale of Alico to MetLife The Federal Reserve Bank of New York and American International Group Inc. agreed to shoulder as much as $450 million in losses tied to the insurer’s Japan real estate bets as part of the sale of a division to MetLife Inc.

El-Erian Says World Economy May Face Disruptive Sovereign Debt Imbalances Mohamed A. El-Erian, whose company runs the world’s biggest mutual fund, said deteriorating public finances may affect the global economy more than is currently realized.

Latin America

Chavez Outdone by Billionaire Mendoza as Wealth Soars Amid Takeover Threat Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s “21st Century Socialism” is failing to rein in billionaire Lorenzo Mendoza.

Slim Overtakes Gates, Buffett for Top Spot on Forbes's Billionaires List Mexico’s Carlos Slim beat Bill Gates and Warren Buffett for the top spot on Forbes magazine’s annual list of billionaires, becoming the first person from outside the U.S. to lead the rankings in 16 years.

Devon Energy to Sell Assets in Brazil, Gulf of Mexico to BP for $7 Billion BP Plc, Europe’s largest oil and gas company, will pay Devon Energy Corp. $7 billion in cash for assets in Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico and Azerbaijan.

Brazil's Recovery May Mean Rate Pause Ends in March, Vieira da Cunha Says Brazilian policy makers may see today’s government report showing that economic growth surged at the end of last year as all the evidence they need to justify raising interest rates next week for the first time since 2008, a former central bank director said.

Pulp Price May Rise to Record as Chile Quake, Finnish Strike Curb Output Chile’s earthquake and a Finnish port strike may propel pulp prices to a record, hastening a tightening of inventories after papermakers cut output.

Hedge Fund-Backed Argentine Soy Producer Tejar Weighs U.S. IPO on Demand Argentina’s El Tejar SA, which produces about 3 million tons of grains and oilseeds in South America, is weighing an initial public offering in New York to tap rising investor demand for agricultural assets.

Exclusive

Obama Proving Pessimists Wrong as Rebounding 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.

Buyout Firms Struggle to Spend $503 Billion of Investor Cash as Deals Wane Buyout funds sitting on half a trillion dollars committed by investors may need more than a decade to put the money to work if mergers and acquisitions continue at the current pace.

Monsanto 7-State Probe Threatens Profit From 93% Hold on U.S. Soybean Crop At least seven U.S. state attorneys general are investigating whether Monsanto Co., the world’s largest seed producer, has abused its market power to lock out competitors and raise prices.

AIG's `Money in the Door' Asset Sales Garner $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.

Pink Floyd, Queen May Leave EMI as Guy Hands's Buyout Mission `Implodes' Pink Floyd and Queen, bands that have been with EMI Music for about four decades, may head for the door, according to two people familiar with their talks, as concern mounts about the U.K. record label’s finances.

Smartphones Eclipse PCs by 2012 as IPhone, Android Take Off: Chart of Day Demand for Apple Inc.’s iPhone and Google Inc.’s Nexus One will help propel smartphone sales past those of personal computers in two years, Gartner Inc. forecasts.