Citigroup's U.S. consumer bank chief steps down
Reuters - 43 minutes ago
NEW YORK/CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc ( C.N ) said on Monday that Teresa "Terri" Dial was stepping down as head of its North American consumer bank, just months after an outside review reportedly questioned her management skills.
Another Citi shakeup: Terri Dial's out CNN
Blagojevich claims he's 'blacker' than Obama
Chicago Tribune - 12 minutes ago
FILE - In this April 21, 2009, file photo, ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is seen leaving federal court in Chicago. The former Illinois governor told Esquire magazine in its February issue that he's "blacker than Barack Obama" and that he was a real person in a political arena dominated by phonies.
Blagojevich Retreats From Race Remarks About Obama New York Times
U.S. government kicks off Detroit auto show
MarketWatch - 14 minutes ago
DETROIT (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. government, a deep-pocketed investor in the car business these days, made its presence known early at the 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Monday. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, much like a man with skin in the car game, delivered the first rah-rah presentation of the day while Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is slated to close Monday's showcase on the main stage.
Ford Fusion Hybrid wins Car of the Year CNN
White House Considers Bank Fees
Wall Street Journal - 1 hour ago
China: Too big to ignore
CNN - 6 minutes ago
Fighting in Afghanistan leaves 5 U.S. troops dead
Los Angeles Times - 36 minutes ago
Cuomo Demands Bonus Data From 8 Big Banks
New York Times - 24 minutes ago
Hoeven Plans Bid for N.D. Senate Seat
New York Times - 25 minutes ago
U.K. LibDems Lay Out Election Plan
Wall Street Journal - 4 hours ago

MarketWatch First Take: Issa's story on Geithner has holes
MarketWatch - 1 hour ago
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The campaign to get Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in front of a congressional panel to discuss his relationship with American International Group Inc. in 2008 may have an unlikely supporter: Geithner. By the looks of it last week, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) struck what could have been the most damaging blow to the Treasury Secretary's career since he took office last year.
Under Fire Again, Geithner Said to Retain Support New York Times
Egypt says Israel's border fence "not our concern"
Reuters - 1 hour ago
Egypt says Israel's border fence "not our concern" CAIRO (Reuters) - Israel's plans to build a security fence along its border with Egypt is of no concern to the Egyptian government as long as it remains on Israeli territory, Egypt's foreign minister said on Monday.
Israel to build security barrier on border with Egypt UK Telegraph
Abu Dhabi Royal Acquitted in Torture Trial
New York Times - 25 minutes ago
A report broadcast Sunday by Al Jazeera included graphic excerpts from video of a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family torturing a man in 2004. A court in Abu Dhabi ruled on Sunday that 45 minutes of video showing a member of the emirate’s ruling family torturing an Afghan grain merchant — by stuffing his face with sand, firing a machine gun close to his body, hitting him with a whip and an electric cattle prod, cutting his bare buttocks by striking him a nail embedded in a stick and driving over him — did not prove the prosecution’s case that the sheik was guilty of a crime.
Abu Dhabi sheik acquitted in torture case Los Angeles Times

Corrected: Israel urges Hamas to rein in Gaza militant groups
Reuters - 6 hours ago
TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak urged the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers Monday to rein in militant groups behind a surge in attacks on Israel, coupling his appeal with a veiled threat of Israeli action. "I think the recent days reflect the inability of Hamas to control the dissident groups, the Popular Committees or Islamic Jihad, who are trying to break the tranquility," Barak told Reuters during the unveiling of an Israeli anti-rocket system due to be deployed outside the Gaza Strip by June.
Israel urges Hamas to rein in Gaza militant groups Reuters
Obama: No plan to deploy to Yemen
Los Angeles Times - 9 hours ago
Washington - President Obama says he has no intention of sending American troops to Yemen or Somalia. Obama told People magazine in an interview to be published Friday that he still believes the center of Al Qaeda activity is along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Obama Plays Down Military Role in Yemen New York Times
British teenage 'prodigy' Alexander Prior joins Seattle Symphony Orchestra
UK Telegraph - 6 hours ago
Alexander Prior, a British teenager hailed as a musical prodigy, has taken up a conducting appointment with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. The 17-year-old from London, best known in the UK for his appearance in the Channel 4 documentary The World's Greatest Musical Prodigies last year, has been given a specially created six month fellowship with the US orchestra.
British teenager picks up baton at Seattle Symphony Reuters

Croatia's softly spoken 'Mr Clean'
UK Telegraph - 5 hours ago
Ivo Josipovic, the social democrat who was elected Croatia's president on Sunday, capitalises on his image as a soft-spoken intellectual and a squeaky-clean political reputation. Voters, who were seemingly fed up with the graft scandals that engulfed Croatian politics over the past months, turned to Josipovic who had promised to usher in "the return of morals into politics".
Jurist Josipovic wins Croatia presidential vote Reuters
Opposition Figure Elected in Croatia
New York Times - 16 hours ago
ZAGREB, Croatia (Reuters) — Ivo Josipovic, the opposition presidential candidate, won a runoff election on Sunday and promised to help complete membership talks so can join in 2012. Mr. Josipovic, a member of the Social Democrat Party who is a law expert and classical music composer, but who has relatively little experience in national politics, won 60.3 percent of the vote in the second-round runoff.
Opposition lawyer wins Croatia presidential runoff, exit polls show Christian Science Monitor
The Slow Unraveling Of The Dodd Mystique
Chicago Tribune - 1 day ago
After living a charmed political life for more than 30 years, Sen. Christopher Dodd collided with 's maxim that "behind every cloud is another cloud." Dodd managed the rare trick of turning some isolated storms into a deluge that forced him to abandon his race for re-election.
The Slow Unraveling Of The Dodd Mystique Chicago Tribune

Stephen Moore: The New Year Brings Tax Chaos
Wall Street Journal - 3 days ago
When the clock hit midnight on Jan. 1, some 70 new taxes on the middle class and small businesses went into effect, thanks to Congress's failure to prevent the expiration of popular and economically vital tax breaks on time. So some 25 million middle class Americans are now slated to get hit with the alternative minimum tax (AMT) this year.
The Federal Estate Tax Is Dead: Now What? (The Tax Guy) SmartMoney

Battle-scarred Tamils emerge as kingmakers
UK Telegraph - 5 hours ago
The Tamil Tigers lost their fight for an independent homeland in May, but observers say that Tamil voters could decide who becomes the next Sri Lankan president. The two main candidates - the incumbent, Mahinda Rajapakse, and a former army chief, Sarath Fonseka - both claim credit for crushing the Tigers and ending the island's bloody ethnic conflict.
Sri Lankan journalist jailed for 20 years after criticizing the govt gets bail pending appeal Chicago Tribune
Debt Plan in Argentina Sets Bank Against the President
New York Times - 14 hours ago
RIO DE JANEIRO — A disputed plan by President Cristina Fern?ndez de Kirchner of to use billions of dollars in foreign currency reserves to repay debt has inflamed political tensions in that country, Latin America’s third-largest economy. Mrs. Kirchner’s cash-poor government is seeking to use $6.5 billion of Argentina’s nearly $48 billion in central bank reserves to help cover $13 billion in international debt that is due this year.
Argentine Leader in Decisive Battle Wall Street Journal
Vietnam's Qantas/Jetstar probe to last months
Reuters - 13 hours ago
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd ( QAN.AX ) expects an investigation into loss making fuel-hedging in its Vietnamese joint venture airline to run for months after two executives were barred from leaving the country. Jetstar Pacific Chief Operating Officer Daniela Marsilli and Chief Financial Officer Tristan Freeman are unable to leave Vietnam as authorities investigate trades that resulted in a $31 million loss for the airline in 2008-09.
Qantas CEO: Employees Are Innocent Wall Street Journal

'Balloon Boy' dad goes to jail
CNN - 1 hour ago
Richard Heene and his wife, Mayumi, leave a Fort Collins, Colorado, courtroom after last month's sentencing hearing. (CNN) -- A man who pleaded guilty to perpetrating a hoax by saying his 6-year-old son was drifting over Colorado in a balloon began his jail sentence Monday.
Dad in balloon boy hoax begins jail time Monday Denver Post
Japan Said to Distance JAL From Delta and American
New York Times - 6 hours ago
Delta Air Lines and will not be invited to invest in Japan Airlines until after a new management has been put in place, if ever, Reuters reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The government has sounded out Kazuo Inamori, the 77-year-old honorary chairman of electronics components maker , about becoming JAL’s new chief executive officer and overseeing its restructuring, the report added.
Japan fund leaning towards JAL delisting - source Reuters
Race Riots Grip Italian Town, and Mafia Is Suspected
New York Times - 14 hours ago
ROME — More than a thousand African workers were put aboard buses and trains in the southern Italian region of Calabria over the weekend and shipped out to immigrant detention centers, following some of the country’s worst riots in years. Rioting by immigrants, mostly African, in Rosarno on Friday was some of Italy's worst in years.
Pope condemns 'exploitation' of immigrants UK Telegraph

Can we fix the 401(k)?
CNN - 2 days ago
Are you happy with your 401(k) plan? According the Investment Company Institute, the mutual fund trade group, the answer is a resounding yes.
Survey Shows Confidence in 401(k)s Wall Street Journal

GOP aides clash over party chairman
CNN - 2 days ago
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is under fire from members of his own party. Washington (CNN) -- GOP tempers flared during a routine conference call when House and Senate leadership aides confronted Republican National Committee staffers over recent comments by party chairman Michael Steele.
GOP aides clash over Michael Steele CNN

Iran can be bombed says General Petraeus
UK Telegraph - 20 hours ago
The US military commander for the Middle East and the Gulf region has confirmed that the United States has developed contingency plans to deal with Iran's nuclear facilities. Gen David Petraeus, head of Central Command or Centcom, did not elaborate on the plans, but said the military has considered the impacts of any action taken there.
Petraeus: U.S. has plan to deal with Iran's nuclear program CNN
Golf: Europe Ekes Out a Victory Over Asia on the Last Hole
New York Times - 22 hours ago
CHONBURI, THAILAND — Europe won the Royal Trophy match play event against Asia on Sunday, with Henrik Stenson picking up a shot on the final hole to secure an 81/2 to 71/2 victory. Henrik Stenson of Sweden reacted after putting the ball to 18th hole at the 4th Royal Trophy men’s team tournament between Europe and Asia in Thailand.
GOLF: Europe Ekes Out a Victory Over Asia on the Last Hole New York Times
Europe take slim lead in Royal Trophy
CNN - 2 days ago
Captain Colin Montgomerie, left, with Saturday's playing partner Simon Dyson during their fourballs victory. (CNN) -- Colin Montgomerie's Europe team have battled back to take a 4.5-3.5 lead over Asia into the final day of the Royal Trophy in Thailand.
Europe Takes Lead Over Asia in Royal Trophy New York Times