U.S.

Blankfein Response on Firm's Role in Crisis `Troublesome,' Angelides Says Lloyd Blankfein, the head of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., failed to own up to his firm’s role in selling mortgage securities that helped trigger the global credit crisis, said the chairman of the panel investigating the financial meltdown.

Bank of America Said to Cut Cash Portion of Bonuses to 15% Amid Criticism Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. lender, plans to cut the cash component of investment bankers’ bonuses to about 15 percent as politicians seek to rein in the payouts, four people familiar with matter said.

Economy Improved in 10 of 12 Fed Districts, Signaling Recovery Broadening The U.S. economy improved in 10 of the Federal Reserve’s 12 districts last month, marking a broadening of the recovery, the central bank said today.

Stocks in U.S., Europe Advance as Bonds, Crude Oil Retreat; Pound Climbs Stocks rose in the U.S. and Europe on earnings optimism and analyst upgrades, while crude oil fell below $80 a barrel after a report showed gains in inventories. Treasuries dropped and the dollar weakened against most major currencies.

U.S. Economic Growth May Accelerate to 6%, Deutsche Bank's LaVorgna Says The U.S. economy may grow as much as 6 percent this year, helped by sales of consumer durables and increases in inventories, according to Deutsche Bank AG’s chief U.S. economist.

SEC Proposes Ban on Brokers Giving Investors Unsupervised Trading Access The Securities and Exchange Commission voted to propose banning brokers from providing clients with unsupervised access to stock exchanges, a practice that accounts for about two of every five shares that trade in the U.S.

Latin America

America Movil Proposes Share Swap That Would Delist Telmex Internacional America Movil SAB said it proposed swapping shares of Carso Global Telecom SAB, giving it an indirect stake in Telefonos de Mexico SAB and Telmex Internacional SAB.

Brazil Wealth Fund May Stockpile More Cash to Boost Currency Intervention Brazil may sell local debt to raise cash that can be used to buy dollars in the foreign-exchange market and help stem the real’s rally, said Treasury Secretary Arno Augustin.

Camargo Bids for Cimpor Stake to Thwart Rival CSN's $5.6 Billion Offer Camargo Correa SA offered to buy a stake in Cimpor-Cimentos de Portugal and merge its Portuguese unit into the cement company to repel a 3.86 billion euro ($5.6 billion) rival offer from Cia. Siderurgica Nacional SA.

Venezuela Seeks 5-Per-Dollar Parallel Rate, Begins Regular Debt Auctions Venezuela began auctioning dollar- denominated securities today as part of an effort to strengthen the bolivar to about 5 per dollar in the unregulated parallel market, a central bank official said.

Brazil Ministry Said to Investigate Hyundai Car Imports Over Tax Evasion Brazil’s tax agency is investigating Hyundai Motor Co. imports to determine whether the South Korean automaker’s distributor in the country is evading taxes, a government official familiar with the inquiry said.

Bovespa Stock Index Rises, Reversing Drop, as MMX Climbs on Metals Prices Brazilian stocks climbed, reversing an earlier fall, as gains for metals producers on an improving economic outlook overshadowed a drop in Petroleo Brasileiro SA.

Exclusive

California Bondholders Dread IOUs as Schwarzenegger Fails to Win Obama Aid California’s hopes are fading for federal help in closing a projected $19.9 billion deficit that has caused the lowest-rated state’s borrowing costs to rise 24 percent since September.

Real Estate Bull Laub Sees Unprecedented Commercial Workouts From Bad Debt Kenneth Laub has been through three commercial real estate boom and bust cycles during almost five decades as a broker and consultant to corporations such as Hess Corp. and International Paper Co.

Bankers Surrender on Darling Bonus Levy as an Income Tax Increase Looms Banks in the U.K. will pay the one- time, 50 percent tax on bonuses levied by the Treasury rather than reduce compensation, according to accountants and lawyers who advise financial institutions. Bankers who face increased income taxes on those payouts may not be so accommodating.

Orange Revolution Promise Fades as Yushchenko Rivals Surge to Jan. 17 Vote Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has feuded with Russia and struggled to forge links with the European Union since taking power in the 2004 Orange Revolution. Voters may now turn to his rivals to mend ties with both East and West.

Icahn Bonds Slumping as BMW Yield Spreads Widen With Swaps: Credit Markets Investors are starting to demand more for credit for the first time this year as $132 billion of new corporate bonds and the lowest yields since February 2005 overwhelm demand.

Earthquake Compounds Haiti's Decades of Economic Damage: Chart of the Day Haiti’s most powerful earthquake in 240 years followed a half-century of economic contraction in the country, the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, relative to the rest of the world.