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EU, Merkel Urge Swap Regulation as Greece Takes Plea to U.S. The European Union’s top regulatory official said the bloc will consider banning “purely speculative” credit-default swaps as German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a crackdown on derivatives trading to prevent a rerun of the Greek financial crisis.

Cisco Introduces Faster Router to Lure Carriers (Update1) Cisco Systems Inc., the world’s biggest network-equipment maker, will start selling a router that it says will accelerate the speed of data and video downloads on the Internet.

Clinton Says U.S. to Help Haiti Elections as Soon as Practical Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. will heed Haitian President Rene Preval’s call for help in holding elections to “ensure the stability and legitimacy” of the earthquake-devastated government.

U.S. Stocks Advance on Anniversary of 2009 Bear-Market Low U.S. stocks rose on the anniversary of the 2009 bear-market low for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index amid speculation the economy will continue to recover from the worst contraction since the Great Depression.

Chile Faces Risk That Quake May Hit Copper-Rich North (Update1) Chile, struck by an 8.8-magnitude earthquake on Feb. 27 that killed hundreds and damaged the country’s main road, may be hit by another “large” temblor in the copper-rich North, a national earthquake specialist said.

Cisco Unveils New Router; AT&T Has Tested in Successful Trial Cisco Systems Inc. said it is releasing a new router, the Cisco CRS-3 Carrier Routing System, according to a statement on its Web site.

Royal Bank May Consider U.S. Banks With $10 Billion in Assets Royal Bank of Canada is interested in U.S. banks with $10 billion in assets or more to add to its consumer lending business, said James Westlake, an executive who oversees the international unit.

TCW Returns to Mortgage Bonds It Was Selling After Prices Fall TCW Group Inc., the fund manager whose staff was shaken up as it fired its chief investment officer in December, has become a buyer of the types of government-backed mortgage securities it was rushing to sell early this year.

Obama Criticizes Insurers in Bid to Sell Health Plan (Update1) President Barack Obama and his top health official are stepping up attacks on the nation’s insurers in an effort to sway public opinion and persuade lawmakers to back U.S. health-care legislation.

Eurostar Failures Bolster Deutsche Bahn’s Tunnel Bid (Update1) Groupe Eurotunnel SA said the breakdown of Eurostar Group Ltd. trains before Christmas has bolstered the case for operators including Deutsche Bahn AG to be given access to its undersea link between England and France.

Commodities Fall as Dollar, Treasuries Gain, Stocks Fluctuate Commodities fell, the dollar strengthened and Treasuries advanced amid speculation that a yearlong rally in riskier assets overshot prospects for the global economic recovery.

New York’s DiNapoli Seeks New Budget Rules for Chronic Deficits New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli proposed changes to the state’s budget process that he said would help keep revenue and spending in balance.

Toyota Reviewing U.S. Report of Prius With Stuck Gas Pedal Toyota Motor Corp., struggling to regain a reputation for quality after unintended acceleration forced millions of vehicle recalls, will investigate a report in California of a Prius hybrid car that sped out of control.

Fed’s Evans Says Low Rates Needed for ‘Some Time’ (Update1) Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans said low interest rates are likely to be needed “for some time” as high unemployment lingers and inflation stays below his goal.

‘Speculative’ Sovereign CDS Sales Could Face Ban, Barroso Says Traders could be banned from selling some sovereign credit default swaps in the wake of the Greek debt crisis, European Commission President Jose Barroso said today.

Gazprom Neft Says Russian Taxes Tripping Up Deals, Expansion OAO Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russia’s gas export monopoly, said Russian taxes are hindering ventures with international oil companies and are the main obstacle for its expansion at home and abroad.

General Growth Investors Add $3.93 Billion to Plan (Update1) General Growth Properties Inc. said its biggest debt and equity holders offered to jointly invest $3.93 billion in the company, bolstering a plan with Brookfield Asset Management Inc. to bring the mall owner out of bankruptcy.

East Europe Leads Stock Gains Since Post-Lehman Low (Update3) East European and Central Asian stocks led gains in the year since global equities bottomed out following the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

U.S. Stocks Fluctuate on Anniversary of 2009 Bear-Market Low U.S. stocks fluctuated on the anniversary of the 2009 bear-market low for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index as financial companies and materials producers retreated, while phone companies and industrial shares rose.

Fannie Mae Mortgage-Bond Spreads Fall to Record: Credit Markets Yields on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage securities that guide U.S. home-loan rates fell to the lowest relative to Treasuries on record, even as the scheduled end of Federal Reserve purchases approaches.

OSI Bid Likely to Rise as Astellas Seeks Cancer Sales (Update3) OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s status as one of the few U.S. biotechnology companies with income from an approved cancer drug likely will drive up the price Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc. must pay to acquire it.

Colombia’s Proteccion to Invest in Private Equity (Update1) Proteccion SA, Colombia’s second- biggest pension fund, plans to invest 2.4 trillion pesos ($1.3 billion) in private equity in the next two years after reaching the government-set limit on stocks.

Dollar Is Favorite Currency of Hedge Fund Managers, Survey Says The U.S. dollar is the favorite currency of hedge-fund managers, with the Brazilian real a “distant second,” according to a survey by TrimTabs Investment Research and BarclayHedge.

Continental Open to Merger Should Competition Dictate (Update1) Continental Airlines Inc., after calling off a merger with United Airlines two years ago, would resume consolidation efforts to remain competitive, Chief Executive Officer Jeff Smisek said.

‘Hurt Locker’ Oscars May Double Box-Office Sales (Update1) “The Hurt Locker” DVD sales spiked after the film won best picture at the Academy Awards, and analysts said its six Oscars may help double box-office revenue for distributor Summit Entertainment LLC.

U.S. Millionaires’ Ranks Increased 16% in 2009, Spectrem Says The millionaires’ club in the U.S. grew 16 percent in 2009, following a 27 percent decline in 2008.

U.S. Economy Could Add 300,000 Jobs This Month, Wesbury Says The U.S. economy could add 300,000 jobs this month as businesses rebound from blizzards last month that prevented hiring in parts of the country, said Brian Wesbury, chief economist at First Trust Portfolios in Wheaton, Illinois.

Greek Estimated Tax-Revenue Gains May Fall Short, EU Draft Says Greek tax increases designed to curb the European Union’s biggest budget deficit may fail to generate as much additional revenue as the government in Athens estimates, a draft EU report said.

Corker Pushes ‘Surgical’ Senate Overhaul Bill, Sees Amendments Senator Bob Corker, the Republican leading Banking Committee negotiations on legislation to overhaul financial rules, said the bill will be “surgical” and probably amended in committee and on the floor.

Daimler’s Tata Motors Windfall Absorbs Losses From EADS Stake Daimler AG’s sale of Tata Motors Ltd. shares will cushion the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars from a hit on earnings at European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co.

MetLife Eclipses Benmosche’s AIG After CEO’s Vow (Update1) MetLife Inc. Chief Executive Officer Robert Henrikson, who vowed not to waste the financial crisis, will control a larger overseas life insurance operation than his old boss after agreeing to pay $15.5 billion for a unit of American International Group Inc.

Kamps Said to Plan IPO to Raise as Much as 500 Million Euros Heiner Kamps Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, the owner of Europe’s biggest seafood restaurant chain, plans to raise as much as 500 million euros ($678 million) in an initial public offering to finance expansion, according to two people familiar with the process.

Biden Says Israel, Palestinians Need ‘Bold’ Steps (Update1) Israel and the Palestinians will have to take “bold” steps for peace, Vice President Joe Biden said today as the two sides prepared to begin U.S.-mediated indirect negotiations.

Evonik Said to Seek Interest for Steag German Power Unit Assets Evonik Industries AG, Germany’s largest specialty chemicals maker, may sell power plant assets of its Steag unit, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Workers More Confident About Retirement, EBRI Says (Update1) U.S. workers are more confident about having enough savings for retirement even after the percentage of savers declined, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Ahmadinejad to Visit Afghanistan, Talk With Karzai (Update1) Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit Afghanistan tomorrow for talks with his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, his first trip to the neighboring country since both were re-elected last year.

EADS Says U.S. Air Force Tanker-Bid Retreat Is Final (Update1) European Aeronautics, Defense & Space Co. Chief Executive Officer Louis Gallois said his decision to abandon the $35 billion U.S. Air Force Tanker bid is final, as some European politicians suspected local favoritism.

Nakheel Bonds Rise as JPMorgan Sees Repayment at Par (Update2) Nakheel PJSC bonds, part of parent Dubai World’s planned $26 billion debt restructuring, climbed the most in two months after JPMorgan Chase & Co. said creditors may get paid face value.

RBS Has Biggest Pension Deficit of Financial Firms (Update1) Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, subject of the world’s biggest bank bailout, has the largest pension deficit relative to its market value out of U.K. finance firms in the FTSE 350 index, according to a report.

Weber Says ECB Could Accept Lower-Rated Bonds as Collateral European Central Bank council member Axel Weber said the bank could accept government bonds with lower credit ratings as collateral against loans if a higher risk premium were applied.