China’s economy expands at a better-than-expected 8.9% in Q4 and area markets soared. (Reuters)

Walmart (NYSE: WMT) appoints a former CBS (NYSE: CBS) digital executive as head of its digital operations. (Reuters)

Disapproval of Congress hits an all-time high, according to a new Washington Post-ABC poll. (Reuters)

S&P downgrades the large eurozone bailout fund. (Reuters)

Auditors of Olympus are cleared of blame in the company’s financial scandal. (Reuters)

Samsung will make a $41 billion capital investment in the company this year. (Reuters)

Hackers compromise 24 million accounts at the Zappos division of Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN). (Reuters)

Federal officials become more active in examining the role S&P played in the mortgage credit crisis. (WSJ)

EU banks create new ways to help bolster their balance sheets, but these may not improve their cash positions. (WSJ)

Bonuses fall at Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS). (WSJ)

BMW and Volkswagen recall more than 500,000 vehicles. (WSJ)

More companies split the roles of chairman from CEO. (WSJ)

California hopes large IPOs will help its finances. (WSJ)

Nigerian unions halt strikes as the government agrees to again underwrite fuel prices. (WSJ)

Moody’s (NYSE: MDO) says it will review the status of its ratings of eurozone finances. (WSJ)

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi says the region’s problems are “very grave.” (WSJ)

Airbus will book double Boeing’s (NYSE: BA) orders this year, but the difference in revenue will be smaller. (WSJ)

U.S. companies continue to invest much more in machinery than labor. (WSJ)

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) likely will produce new textbook systems optimized for the iPad. (WSJ)

CBS Sports website will open its operations so that app developers can offer fantasy sports software. (WSJ)

Executive perks tend to rise as CEOs get closer to retirement. (WSJ)

Private equity firms could get more scrutiny of leverage and tax approaches. (WSJ)

Iron ore prices fall along with demand. (WSJ)

Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) card payment programs increase sales. (WSJ)

Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) continues to have trouble adding features to its PlayBook tablet PC. (NYT)

Italy’s prime minister asks Germany to do more to lower loan costs because he worries about a voter revolt. (FT)

Saudi Arabia says its price target for oil rose to $100 to offset spending in the country. (FT)

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association says the region’s car sales fell 5.8% in December, with much of the brunt of the drop taken by Fiat, Peugeot Citroen and Renault. (Bloomberg)

Douglas A. McIntyre

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