Key states move closer to foreclosure-abuse deal (AP)

AP - California and New York, the key holdouts in a long-awaited settlement over foreclosure abuses, moved closer Monday to backing a deal that would force the five largest mortgage lenders to reduce loans for about 1 million households. More than 40 U.S. states have agreed to a nationwide settlement.

More than 40 states agree to foreclosure deal (AP)

AP - More than 40 U.S. states have agreed to a nationwide settlement over foreclosure abuses.

China: Body of missing worker recovered in Sudan (AP)

AP - State media say the body of a Chinese worker who went missing during a rebel attack on a work site in Sudan has been found and that 29 others abducted in the assault would be freed soon.

DEA agents in Puerto Rico claim discrimination (AP)

AP - Ten Puerto Rican agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration have filed suit against their employer, claiming they receive less pay and more dangerous assignments than agents hired in the U.S. and sent to the island.

Syria at War: Free Syrian Army Fighting Assad Loyalists (Time.com)

Time.com - As the Free Syrian Army is establishing an identity in the conflict, another organization announces its presence in the opposition pantheon

The Mainstreaming of Hamas Continues as Palestinian Unity Gains Steam (Time.com)

Time.com - Hamas vows to give Palestinian moderate leader Mahmoud Abbas the running room to see what talks can produce

MGM gets $500 mln loan to expand film, TV slate (Reuters)

Reuters - Metro-Goldwyn Mayer said its lenders agreed to loan the studio $500 million to retire debt it took on when it emerged from bankruptcy about a year ago and to expand its film and TV production.

Syrian forces attack Homs on eve of Lavrov visit (Reuters)

Reuters - A Syrian military assault on Homs killed dozens of people on the eve of a visit to Damascus by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov aimed at pressing President Bashar al-Assad to end an 11-month uprising by implementing swift reform.

Palestinians take step toward unity (AP)

AP - After months of wavering, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas took a decisive step Monday toward reconciliation with the Islamic militant group Hamas, a move Israel promptly warned would close the door to any future peace talks.

Greek leaders face crunch talks, unions strike (Reuters)

Reuters - Greek political leaders face crunch talks on Tuesday to hammer out a deal on unpopular reforms that have prompted the country's biggest labor unions to walk off the job.

After U.S. oil snub, Canada focuses on China (Reuters)

Reuters - Canada will focus on exporting oil and other goods to China and other booming Asian economies even if Washington overturns its decision to block a pipeline that would have sent more Canadian crude to the United States.

Exclusive: Facebook governance a concern for Calif pension fund (Reuters)

Reuters - Facebook's corporate governance rules, which give shareholders little say in how the social networking website would be run as a public company, are raising the hackles of one of the largest U.S. investors, the California State Teachers' Retirement System.

Romania's government collapses after protests (AP)

AP - Romania's government has collapsed following weeks of protests against austerity measures, the latest debt-stricken government in Europe to fall in the face of raising public anger over biting cuts.

Mortgage deal faces setbacks, again (Reuters)

Reuters - A multi-state mortgage settlement in the works for more than a year will likely be pushed back again as dissident U.S. states continue to press specific concerns and ignore a Monday deadline to decide whether they will sign it.

Yum Brands posts 30 percent 4th-qtr profit rise (AP)

AP - Yum Brands Inc., owner of the Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC fast-food chains, said Monday that its fourth-quarter profit rose 30 percent with a recipe of strong overseas growth mixed with a sales turnaround at Pizza Hut in the U.S.

Greece caves in on civil service firings (AP)

AP - Greece's coalition government caved in to demands to cut civil service jobs, announcing 15,000 positions would go this year, amid mounting international pressure to agree on austerity measures needed to secure major new debt agreements.

Egyptians cancel meetings with U.S. lawmakers after aid warnings (Reuters)

Reuters - An Egyptian military delegation abruptly cancelled its meetings with U.S. lawmakers to return to Cairo on Monday after warnings from both Congress and the White House that Egypt's crackdown on non-governmental groups could threaten its $1.3 billion in annual U.S. military aid.

Ford won't bid to replace military Humvees (Reuters)

Reuters - Ford Motor Co said on Monday it had decided not to participate in a new Pentagon competition to replace the U.S. military's fleet of workhorse Humvee vehicles.

Gunmen kill five in Libyan refugee camp: hospital staff (Reuters)

Reuters - Gunmen killed five Libyan refugees at their camp in a Tripoli suburb Monday, residents and hospital sources said, underscoring the volatility in the country months after Muammar Gaddafi's overthrow.

The Worthless Junk the 1 Percent Waste Their Money On (ContributorNetwork)

ContributorNetwork - COMMENTARY | Strictly speaking, the 1 percent -- people whose incomes put them above the other 99 percent of us, starting at about $340,000 a year as of 2009, according to IRS data -- don't actually spend much of their money.

Wall St edges lower after string of gains (Reuters)

Reuters - Stocks closed slightly lower on Monday as lingering questions about Europe's debt crisis and corporate earnings overshadowed growing optimism about economic growth after a five-week rally.

China VP seeks reunion with Iowans he met in 1985 (AP)

AP - As China's future president makes plans for a trip to the United States next week, he has made sure that there's time between stops in Washington and California to visit Iowa.

Senegalese opposition denounce president's bid for third term (The Christian Science Monitor)

The Christian Science Monitor - The eight candidates came in convoys from their respective corners of Dakar to Obelisk Square in the heart of the Senegalese capital, where crowds of color-coordinated supporters awaited them while listening to political hip-hop anthems in Wolof - the local dialect. A single microphone stood on stage and each of them were introduced as "president" before they took it.

Anti-cuts protests push Romania PM out (Reuters)

Reuters - Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc resigned on Monday, joining a list of European leaders felled by fury at the kind of spending cuts that prompted weeks of mass protests in Bucharest against IMF-backed austerity.

South Africa's cautious UN vote for Syrian action (The Christian Science Monitor)

The Christian Science Monitor - Russia and Chinaâs joint veto of a United Nations resolution urging Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to step down has kicked up a firestorm of criticism from the West and from human rights activists.

Quick end to lockout at Rio's Quebec smelter unlikely (Reuters)

Reuters - Rio Tinto's lockout of workers at its Alcan division's big Alma aluminum smelter in northern Quebec looks set to drag on, and the company said on Monday that no talks were scheduled.

90 DC workers face firing for unemployment fraud (AP)

AP - About 90 District of Columbia workers have been suspended and may be fired after officials determined they received unemployment checks while holding city jobs.

U.N. nuclear talks in Tehran: frustrated hopes (Reuters)

Reuters - After two days of rare and intensive talks in Tehran, senior U.N. nuclear officials may have felt they were finally making headway towards getting Iran to address suspicions that it is bent on developing the ability to make atom bombs.

Palestinian rivals agree to form unity government (Reuters)

Reuters - The leaders of rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas signed a deal in Qatar on Monday to form a unity government of independent technocrats for the West Bank and Gaza, headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Correction: Australia helicopter deaths story (AP)

AP - In a story Feb. 5 about the deaths of two filmmakers in an Australian helicopter crash, The Associated Press reported erroneously the location of the crash. Nowra is 97 miles (156 kilometers) south of Sydney, not north.

Nasdaq core profit tops expectations (Reuters)

Reuters - Nasdaq OMX Group Inc's core profit topped analysts' expectations for the fourth quarter, boosted by a rise in revenue from market data and technology, which helped offset a soft trading environment.

Euro zone sales tumble at Christmas, no sign of growth (Reuters)

Reuters - Retail sales in the euro zone tumbled unexpectedly in December, the biggest drop in the Christmas period in three years, data showed on Friday, with rising joblessness and stubborn inflation undercut signs of a stabilization in Europe's economy.