Wall St edges lower as Greece deal advances (Reuters)

Reuters - Stocks edged lower at the open on Tuesday as investors awaited the outcome of discussions on a bailout package for Greece from international lenders that would help the country avoid a chaotic default.

Bernanke repeats vow to shield U.S. from Europe fallout (Reuters)

Reuters - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday renewed a pledge to prevent Europe's financial crisis from damaging the U.S. economy in testimony before Congress that mirrored remarks he made last week.

Greek unions strike before leaders' talks (Reuters)

Reuters - Greek party leaders face crunch talks on Tuesday to secure a new international bailout and avoid a chaotic debt default, caught between EU demands that they accept painful reforms now and a national strike against more austerity.

Coca-Cola beats Street, eyes cost savings (Reuters)

Reuters - Coca-Cola Co reported better-than-expected quarterly results and announced a new cost-savings program on Tuesday that it will use to boost its brands and mitigate higher commodity costs.

Glencore-Xstrata deal meets shareholder opposition (Reuters)

Reuters - At least two top 10 shareholders in miner Xstrata plan to vote against a takeover by commodities trader Glencore, threatening the creation of a powerhouse spanning mining, agriculture and trading.

Watchdogs to drag shadow banks into the light (Reuters)

Reuters - Beyond the reach of regulators, and about half the size of the world's banking industry, a thriving breed of "shadow banks" is emerging that could trigger the next chapter in the global financial crisis.

Coca-Cola adjusted 4Q results beat Street (AP)

AP - Coca-Cola Co.'s fourth-quarter net income dropped 71 percent, weighed down by restructuring charges and a difficult comparison with last year's fourth quarter, when the beverage maker had a hefty benefit from buying its bottlers.

Greek party leaders seek deal as bankruptcy looms (AP)

AP - Greek party leaders will seek Tuesday a long-delayed agreement on harsh cutbacks that bailout creditors demanded to save the country from bankruptcy but which have fueled nationwide outrage — a general strike snarled public services and thousands of protesters took to the streets of Athens.

Toyota lifts profit forecast as disaster woes fade (AP)

AP - Toyota's quarterly profit slid 13.5 percent on production setbacks caused by last year's tsunami disaster and the flooding in Thailand, but Japan's top automaker raised its annual earnings forecast, saying a recovery is on track.

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.

BP preparing "vigorously" for oil spill lawsuits (Reuters)

Reuters - BP said it was preparing "vigorously" for lawsuits related to its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which are due to start later this month, as it unveiled a rise in fourth-quarter earnings boosted by higher oil prices and one-off gains.

AP Enterprise: Brown bank regulator an insider (AP)

AP - Gov. Jerry Brown's appointee to head the department that oversees banking, financial and consumer regulations in California led a trade association that fought against tighter lending restrictions before the subprime mortgage crisis exploded and was an executive with Washington Mutual when the now-failed bank was among the most aggressive marketers of loans to high-risk borrowers.

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.

Oklahoma governor plans to cut state income taxes (Reuters)

Reuters - Oklahoma's Republican governor announced a plan on Monday to dramatically cut state income tax rates and eventually do away with them altogether, and said the state would pay for the cuts by closing "loopholes."

Merger fails, but D.Boerse CEO says allies a must (Reuters)

Reuters - D.Boerse CEO eyes new allies as NYSE deal crumbles Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE) does not believe it can survive in the long term without a new partner despite the collapse of its proposed $7.4 billion merger with NYSE Euronext , its chief executive told a German newspaper.

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.