The size of the Japanese economy dropped in the fourth quarter of last year, but exports may aid a rebound. (Reuters)

The Obama budget will cut $1.1 trillion in costs over 10 years. (Reuters)

NY Senator Schumer raised objections to the merger of the NYSE (NYSE: NYX) and the Deutsche Borse. (Reuters)

China’s trade surplus dropped to $6.5 billion in January on strong imports. (Reuters)

Sanofi-Aventis has completed it due diligence of Genzyme. (NASDAQ GENZ) (Reuters)

Smartphone makers marketed themselves to developers at the Mobile World Congress. (Reuters)

The head of Nokia (NYSE: NOK) said his company’s venture with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) would bring the handset company billions of dollars. (Reuters)

Zynga may raise money at a $7 billion valuation. (Reuters)

Linux may be helped in its relationship with smaller cellphone companies now that the Microsoft deal with Nokia is set. (Reuters)

Harsh regulations may keep Asian exchanges from mergers. (Reuters)

GE (NYSE: GE) will buy John Wood for $2.8 billion. (Reuters)

China moved ahead of Japan as the world’s second largest economy. (WSJ)

Consumer and business spending should rise this year. (WSJ)

The Obama budget should raise the deficit to $1.6 trillion as tax cuts hurt government revenue. (WSJ)

JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) will start a fund to invest in new media. (WSJ)

A recovery of the world economy may allow G20 nations to avoid addressing some of the things that cause the recession. (WSJ)

The Chapter 11 filing of Borders will help e-book sales. (WSJ)

Chesapeake Energy is under pressure from Carl Icahn to sell assets. (WSJ)

The end of a law that helps support American workers pressed out of work by trade will pressure US relation with Korea and Columbia. (WSJ)

Public workers unions have prepared for state budget cuts. (WSJ)

Vietnam devalued it currency by 8.5%. (WSJ)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) will launch a less expensive iPhone. (WSJ)

The 2011 proxy season will bring pressure from shareholders to open up board decisions. (WSJ)

Rising cost of goods sold caused by inflation will hurt margins of US firms more that Wall St. expects. (WSJ)

The European Central Bank will struggle with the economic problems of rapid growth in Germany, modest growth in France and slow growth in Spain. (WSJ)

China is rapidly expanding its participation in the North American natural gas market. (WSJ)

Netbook sales have been overtaken by tablet PCs but still do well in Asia and Latin America. (NYT)

Competition has hurt Groupon sales in Japan. (NYT)

China may build a rail system through Columbia to compete with the Panama Canal. (FT)

The US will try to get sovereign funds to put money into the AIG (NYSE: AIG) IPO. (FT)

Europe’s drop in spending on solar technology may help China. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

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