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.

Exclusive: MGM secures $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.

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.

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.

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.

Greeks delay bailout talks as Merkel demands action (Reuters)

Reuters - German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Greece Monday to make up its mind fast on accepting the painful terms for a new EU/IMF bailout, but the country's political leaders responded by delaying their decision for yet another day.

Housing plan helps nearly 1 million homeowners (Reuters)

Reuters - Nearly 1 million U.S. homeowners have won permanent reductions on mortgage payments since the Obama administration launched its foreclosure prevention program in 2009, the U.S. Treasury said on Monday, only a fraction of the total it aimed to reach.

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.

US oil prices fall below $97 (AP)

AP - U.S. oil prices fell below $97 per barrel Monday as growing supplies offset moves by President Barack Obama and other Western leaders to make it tougher for Iran to sell crude. Here's how energy contracts traded.

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.

Report: Casinos generated $125B spending in 2010 (AP)

AP - A new report shows U.S. casinos and the industries that depend on them made a $125 billion economic splash in 2010 — the equivalent of 1 percent of the total U.S. gross domestic product.

SEC names top federal auditor to accounting board (AP)

AP - Federal regulators have appointed a top government auditor as a member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which polices the accounting industry.

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.