Obama called for a spending freeze for some government discretionary spending. (Reuters)

The Federal Reserve will probably stick to it plans to buy bonds and noted economic improvement. (Reuters)

Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM) announced a global recall of 1.7 million vehicles. (Reuters)

Bank of America’s (NYSE: BAC) Countrywide unit was sued for widespread fraud. (Reuters)

Obama called for a cut in corporate taxes. (Reuters)

Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) warned that its first quarter would be weak and that it would cut expenses again. (Reuters)

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) will likely reports lower sales on more modest PC sales and will have to convince Wall St. that it has made mobile inroads. (Reuters)

The Nielsen and Demand Media IPOs priced at the high end of their ranges. (Reuters)

Vivendi finished the sale of its stake in NBCU. (Reuters)

CEOs must manage growth which is far different in emerging nations that those which are already developed. (WSJ)

SAP earnings were undermined by its settlement with Oracle. (NASDAQ: ORCL) (WSJ)

States and municipalities have been slow to give out data about their finances. (WSJ)

The 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress test scores for science were poor for US students. (WSJ)

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission report on the credit crisis says it could have been avoided. (WSJ)

European leaders plan to offer a comprehensive program to prevent contagion from the region’s debt crisis. (WSJ)

Makers of generic drugs threaten the biotech industry. (WSJ)

Oil companies ramped up exploration spending last year. (WSJ)

Facebook will allow ads in messages between “friends.” (WSJ)

LinkedIn has created more tools for advertisers to target its users. (WSJ)

The special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program said federal help for homeowners was ineffective. (WSJ)

ETFs for emerging markets allow investors to make either growth or value plays. (WSJ)

The FDA and dairy farmers are at odds over the testing or milk for antibiotics. (NYT)

The SEC will allow investors to vote on executive pay but the results will not be binding. (NYT)

A drop in UK GDP raised questions about fiscal tightening. (FT)

The Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 5 will enable users to scan products to pay for them. (FT)

More BRIC company executives are at Davos. (Bloomberg)

Global investors believe that either Greece or Ireland will default by 2016 and that at least one company will leave the eurozone, according to a Bloomberg survey. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

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