U.S.

Stocks Climb, Sending Dow Average to 17-Month High, on Inflation Outlook Stocks rose, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a 17-month high, and commodities rallied as a drop in U.S. producer prices underscored the Federal Reserve’s assessment that inflation is not a threat to low interest rates. The yen and the dollar weakened.

Bernanke Says Fed Shouldn't Be Relegated to `Too-Big-to-Fail' Regulator Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank shouldn’t be relegated to the role of regulating only the largest financial firms, as proposed by a draft bill in the Senate.

Nike Profit More Than Doubles on North America Sales Increase; Shares Gain Nike Inc., the world’s largest maker of athletic shoes, said third-quarter profit more than doubled, beating analysts’ estimates, as North America posted a sales increase for the first time in a year. The stock jumped.

Blackstone Said to Weigh Raising $1 Billion to Acquire Failed U.S. Banks Blackstone Group LP, the world’s largest private-equity firm, is in preliminary talks to raise $1 billion to buy failed banks, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.

SLM Sells Debt at Higher Interest Rate Than Students Pay: Credit Markets SLM Corp., the largest U.S. student-loan company, raised $1.5 billion in the bond market, paying more than it charges some borrowers to begin addressing $11 billion of bonds maturing through next year.

Ford Shares Hit Five-Year High as Moody's Boosts Rating on Business Model Ford Motor Co. rose to a 5-year high in New York trading and its bonds gained after Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the automaker’s credit rating.

Latin America

Brazil Keeps Rate at Record Low 8.75 in Split Vote, Signaling April Raise Brazil’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low 8.75 percent today in a less-than-unanimous decision, signaling that borrowing costs may rise as soon as next month.

Goldman Sachs Says Buy `Overvalued' BRIC Currencies as Growth to Fuel Gain The currencies of Brazil, Russia, India and China are poised to gain even as a model of long-term value suggests they’re too strong, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Renova Energia Postpones IPO, OSX Reduces Offering as Sale Slump Deepens Renova Energia SA, a renewable energy company, postponed its initial public offering, deepening a slump in stock offerings in Latin America’s biggest market.

Chile to Cut Solar and Wind Subsidies, Shift Cash to Rebuild After Quake Chile’s government plans to limit subsidies for renewable-energy projects and shift funding to reconstruction efforts after an 8.8-magnitude earthquake damaged the power grid last month, the energy minister said.

Bovespa to Rally 20 Percent, Valia Investment Director Wanderley Predicts Brazil’s Bovespa stock index will likely rise at least 20 percent this year, said Mauricio da Rocha Wanderley, investment director at the pension fund for employees of Vale SA, the world’s biggest iron-ore miner.

Mexico's Peso Advances to 16-Month High as Fed Pledges Low Interest Rates Mexico’s peso rose to the strongest level in 16 months as the U.S. Federal Reserve yesterday pledged to keep borrowing costs low, encouraging investors to buy higher-yielding assets in emerging markets.

Exclusive

Coal Beats Solar as Analysts Favor Peabody Amid Shrinking Green Subsidies Wall Street’s contribution to the debate on how to curb global warming: Buy coal, sell solar.

Russia Wields Three-Pronged Policy Fix to Cap Ruble, Steer Uneven Recovery Russia, the biggest economy still cutting interest rates, will probably deploy a three-pronged strategy to steer an uneven recovery as the ruble soars, inflation hovers at a 12-year low and bank liquidity swells.

`Pink Slip Party' Host Has $2.2 Million Payday as Tokyo Bankers Find Jobs Soichiro “Swimmy” Minami parlayed a get-together for laid-off bankers into a $2.2 million paycheck in less than a year.

Jerome York, Apple Director, Is Critical After Suffering Brain Hemorrhage Jerome York, a director of Apple Inc. and former chief financial officer of International Business Machines Corp. and Chrysler Corp., was hospitalized in critical condition today in Pontiac, Michigan.

Eaton Vance's Cirami Wins Greek Bet Five Years After Buying Credit Swaps Michael Cirami, co-manager of the $2.2 billion Eaton Vance Global Macro Absolute Return Fund, waited five years for investors to realize that insurance on Greek government bonds was too cheap.

For a Head Start on China's GDP Growth, Study Power Output: Chart of Day Investors looking for an early indication on expansion in China, the world’s third-biggest economy, can study the latest power production, which signals “robust growth,” Standard Bank Plc said.