WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. firms are experiencing the worst business conditions in 27 years as the year-long recession worsens, a survey showed on Monday.

Whether President Barack Obama enjoys one term or two in the White House will depend overwhelmingly on the state of U.S. pocketbooks.

AP - A new study from Italy adds to a mountain of evidence that a mercury-based preservative once used in many vaccines doesn't hurt children, offering more reassurance to parents.

AP - It's shaping up to be another lousy year for workers, with more companies expecting to cut payrolls in the months ahead.

AP - Ron Artest scored three of his 24 points at the line in the final 14 seconds, helping the Houston Rockets hold off the Detroit Pistons for a 108-105 win Sunday night.

Reuters - U.S. firms are experiencing the worst business conditions in 27 years as the year-long recession worsens, a survey showed on Monday.

Reuters - It's always the economy, stupid.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese celebrated the Lunar New Year Monday with hopes that the Year of the Ox will be more bullish than disaster-stricken 2008.

AP - Congress is set to tackle the economy this week by considering President Barack Obama's choice to head the Treasury Department and by acting on legislation to spur economic growth.

AP - Being a favorite with the British bookmakers worked against Andy Murray at the Australian Open.

AFP - Sri Lankan government troops on Monday pushed into the last pockets of jungle still held by the Tamil Tigers after capturing the rebels' last urban stronghold and military headquarters.

AFP - China gave the Lunar New Year a raucous welcome Monday with parties, feasts and thousands of tonnes of firecrackers, but the mood was far from bullish as the nation ushered in the Year of the Ox.

DUBAI/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Major European employers including Philips and ING announced thousands of job cuts on Monday and Dubai container port operator DP World halted all development as the downturn bit.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Several European Union countries said Monday the bloc should help the new U.S. President Barack Obama close the Guantanamo jail by taking in inmates, while others remained reluctant.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two U.S. military aircraft crashed in northern Iraq in the early hours of Monday, killing four soldiers, the U.S. military said.

AP - A Congolese warlord pleaded not guilty to recruiting child soldiers and sending them to fight and die in ethnic battles as the International Criminal Court began its historic first trial Monday.

AP - The Homeland Security Department still is requiring high-level approval before federal immigration agents can arrest fugitives, a rule quietly imposed by the Bush administration days before the election of Barack Obama, whose aunt has been living in the United States illegally.

AP - A bomb rigged to a bicycle exploded in a northwest Pakistani city on Monday, killing at least five people and wounding 20 in the latest attack to rattle the volatile region, police said.

AP - 'Slumdog Millionaire' continued its unlikely rise from low-budget underdog to the highest Hollywood heights, winning the Screen Actors Guild Award for best cast of a motion picture.

AP - Stocks fell Monday in Japan, the only major Asian market open amid a slew of regional holidays, as investors braced for earnings this week from Sony, Honda and other major names. European markets opened higher.

AP - Andy Murray wasn't the only one feeling pain Monday at the Australian Open.

Reuters - Major European employers including Philips and ING announced thousands of job cuts on Monday and Dubai container port operator DP World halted all development as the downturn bit.

Reuters - Several European Union countries said Monday the bloc should help the new U.S. President Barack Obama close the Guantanamo jail by taking in inmates, while others remained reluctant.

Reuters - Two U.S. military aircraft crashed in northern Iraq in the early hours of Monday, killing four soldiers, the U.S. military said.

AFP - Four US soldiers were killed on Monday when two helicopters crashed in northern Iraq, American and Iraqi military officials said.

AFP - The first-ever trial of the International Criminal Court started in The Hague on Monday with Congolese militiaman Thomas Lubanga accused of war crimes for using child soldiers.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc, the No. 1 drugmaker, said on Monday that it would acquire U.S. rival Wyeth for about $68 billion in a move to diversify its revenue base.

ZURICH (Reuters) - Political leaders and central bankers will dominate this week's annual Davos forum as a chastened business elite is sidelined in the drive to reboot the world economy, improve global security and slow climate change.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. firms are experiencing the worst business conditions in 27 years as the year-long recession worsens, a survey showed on Monday.

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga trained child soldiers to kill, pillage and rape during the region's bloody 1998-2003 conflict, a war crimes prosecutor said at the start of his trial on Monday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will withdraw forces from Iraq sooner than the three-year deadline agreed by ex-president George W. Bush, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Monday.

AP - Gov. Rod Blagojevich tells ABC that he considered appointing Oprah Winfrey to the empty U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama.

AP - Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drugmaker, will pay $68 billion for rival Wyeth in a move that will consolidate two of the industry's largest drug developers.

AP - China greeted the arrival Monday of the Year of the Ox with fireworks and celebrations, bidding farewell to a tumultuous 2008 marked by a massive earthquake, the Olympics, and a global economic crisis.

AP - Two U.S. helicopters crashed Monday in northern Iraq, killing four American troops, the U.S. military said.

AP - 'Slumdog Millionaire' continued its unlikely rise from low-budget underdog to the highest Hollywood heights, winning the Screen Actors Guild Award for best cast of a motion picture.

AP - A captive reptile in New Zealand has unexpectedly become a father at the ripe old age of 111 after receiving treatment for a cancer that made him hostile toward prospective mates.

Reuters - Pfizer Inc, the No. 1 drugmaker, said on Monday that it would acquire U.S. rival Wyeth for about $68 billion in a move to diversify its revenue base.

Reuters - Political leaders and central bankers will dominate this week's annual Davos forum as a chastened business elite is sidelined in the drive to reboot the world economy, improve global security and slow climate change.

Reuters - U.S. firms are experiencing the worst business conditions in 27 years as the year-long recession worsens, a survey showed on Monday.

Reuters - Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga trained child soldiers to kill, pillage and rape during the region's bloody 1998-2003 conflict, a war crimes prosecutor said at the start of his trial on Monday.

Reuters - U.S. President Barack Obama will withdraw forces from Iraq sooner than the three-year deadline agreed by ex-president George W. Bush, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Monday.

AFP - The world economy was hit by a massive wave of job cuts on Monday with companies announcing plans to lay off tens of thousands of workers as US President Barack Obama warned of a crisis that could become 'dramatically worse.'

AFP - A senior EU official touring Gaza on Monday blasted the 'abominable' destruction in the enclave and said its 'terrorist' Hamas rulers bear overwhelming responsibility for the war.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Caterpillar Inc said on Monday that quarterly earnings fell more than 32 percent and warned of a tough year ahead as the downturn that began in the United States metastasized into a full-blown global recession that hit sales of its earth-moving equipment.

DUBAI/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Banks, retailers and manufacturers, including electronics maker Philips, announced thousands of job cuts on Monday, yet financial shares rose as news from major banks helped ease investor fears.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union struggled to show a united front on Guantanamo on Monday as some states said the bloc should help new U.S. President Barack Obama close the jail by taking in inmates, while others refused.

AP - The Iraqi prime minister says he expects the U.S. to withdraw its troops faster than the three-year timeline laid down in the U.S.-Iraq security agreement.

Reuters - Caterpillar Inc said on Monday that quarterly earnings fell more than 32 percent and warned of a tough year ahead as the downturn that began in the United States metastasized into a full-blown global recession that hit sales of its earth-moving equipment.

Reuters - Banks, retailers and manufacturers, including electronics maker Philips, announced thousands of job cuts on Monday, yet financial shares rose as news from major banks helped ease investor fears.

Reuters - The European Union struggled to show a united front on Guantanamo on Monday as some states said the bloc should help new U.S. President Barack Obama close the jail by taking in inmates, while others refused.

AFP - Companies forecast almost 70,000 job cuts in a single day as the rampant crisis born in the banking sector struck workers in factories and offices across the globe and brought down a government on Monday.

AFP - Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde announced Monday the immediate resignation of his government in the wake of the country's dire economic crisis.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama told the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday to reconsider California's request to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars, reversing the climate policies of former President George W. Bush.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - It used to be a prized invitation for Wall Street CEOs and top government officials. But for the U.S. banking elite, a ticket to this year's World Economic Forum in Davos risks becoming as toxic as the mess left over from the subprime mortgage crisis.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Caterpillar Inc announced it would cut nearly 20,000 jobs and warned of a tough year ahead as a downturn that began in the United States metastasized into a full-blown global recession, gutting orders for earth-moving equipment.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pace of sales of existing homes in the U.S. rose 6.5 percent in December, but the median home price dropped by a record 15.3 percent compared to the same period the year earlier, a National Association of Realtors report showed on Monday.

AP - It's already been a lousy year for workers less than a month into 2009 and there's no relief in sight. Tens of thousands of fresh layoffs were announced Monday and more companies are expected to cut payrolls in the months ahead.

AP - General Motors Corp. says it will cut 2,000 jobs at plants in Michigan and Ohio, and it will halt production for several weeks at nine plants over the next six months due to slow sales.

AP - Pfizer Inc. is buying rival drugmaker Wyeth in a $68 billion deal that will increase its revenue by 50 percent, solidify its No. 1 rank in the troubled industry and transform it from a pure pharmaceutical company into a diversified health care giant.

AP - President Barack Obama ordered the government Monday to re-examine whether California and other states should be allowed to have tougher auto emission standards to combat a build up of greenhouse gases, a clean break from Bush administration policy.

AP - President Barack Obama says the nation can't afford 'distractions' or 'delays' when it comes to the economic stimulus plan working its way through Congress.

AP - Supporters rallied around a Kentucky high school football coach ahead of his first court date on unprecedented criminal charges for the heat-related death of a player during practice.

Reuters - U.S. President Barack Obama began reversing the climate policies of the Bush administration on Monday, clearing the way for the government to allow states to set stricter limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars.

Reuters - Caterpillar Inc announced it would cut nearly 20,000 jobs and warned of a tough year ahead as a downturn that began in the United States metastasized into a full-blown global recession, gutting orders for earth-moving equipment.

Reuters - The U.S. special envoy for Middle East peace leaves on Monday night on a trip to Egypt, Israel, the West Bank, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to try to shore up the Gaza ceasefire to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace, the State Department said.

Reuters - The pace of sales of existing homes in the U.S. rose 6.5 percent in December, but the median home price dropped by a record 15.3 percent compared to the same period the year earlier, a National Association of Realtors report showed on Monday.

AFP - Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Haarde announced Monday the immediate resignation of his government following massive protests over its handling of the country's dire economic crisis.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc, the No. 1 drugmaker, said on Monday that it would acquire U.S. rival Wyeth for about $68 billion in a move to diversify its revenue base.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama began reversing the climate policies of the Bush administration on Monday, clearing the way for new rules to force auto makers to produce more fuel-efficient and less polluting cars.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new Middle East peace envoy leaves on Monday night on a trip to Egypt, Israel, the West Bank, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to try to shore up the Gaza ceasefire to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace, the State Department said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Several top securities enforcement officials will testify at a Congressional hearing into Bernard Madoff's alleged $50 billion fraud, the Senate Banking Committee said on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An unexpected improvement in U.S. home sales provided a rare bit of good economic news on Monday, while companies announced more mass layoffs as the yearlong recession continues to take its toll.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union countries failed on Monday to agree on concerted help for U.S. President Barack Obama's move to close the Guantanamo jail, concluding that each nation must decide by itself whether to take in inmates.

AP - The Illinois Senate has convened a historic impeachment trial that will determine whether Gov. Rod Blagojevich is removed from office.

AP - President Barack Obama's administration will engage in 'direct diplomacy' with Iran, the newly installed U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Monday.

AP - President Barack Obama took aim Monday at the lofty but long elusive goal of making the nation more energy independent, ordering reviews that could lead to tougher auto emission standards in states and higher pressure on automakers to produce more fuel-efficient cars.

AP - A settlement has been reached in a closely watched lawsuit brought after The Boston Globe's Web site began posting headlines and lead sentences from another publisher's site, a court official said Monday.

AP - Britain's News of the World tabloid says Chelsy Davy announced the end of her relationship with Prince Harry by changing her status on Facebook to: 'Relationship: Not in One.'

Reuters - Pfizer Inc, the No. 1 drugmaker, said on Monday that it would acquire U.S. rival Wyeth for about $68 billion in a move to diversify its revenue base.

Reuters - President Barack Obama began reversing the climate policies of the Bush administration on Monday, clearing the way for new rules to force auto makers to produce more fuel-efficient and less polluting cars.

Reuters - The new Middle East peace envoy leaves on Monday night on a trip to Egypt, Israel, the West Bank, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to try to shore up the Gaza ceasefire to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace, the State Department said.

Reuters - Several top securities enforcement officials will testify at a Congressional hearing into Bernard Madoff's alleged $50 billion fraud, the Senate Banking Committee said on Monday.

AFP - Companies forecast more than 85,000 job cuts in a single day as the rampant financial crisis hit workers in factories and offices across the globe and brought down a government on Monday.

AP - Gov. Rod Blagojevich's historic impeachment trial began Monday without its defiant defendant, who refused to participate and spent the day in New York making television appearances to decry the trial as unfair.

AP - A paramedic has been charged in an alleged plot to extort $25 million from John Travolta after his teenage son suffered a seizure and died at the family's home in the Bahamas.

AP - A Kentucky high school football coach has pleaded not guilty to reckless homicide in the heat-related death of a player who collapsed at a hot August practice.

AFP - At least 85,000 new job cuts were announced in a single day Monday as the rampant financial crisis hit more workers across the globe and brought down Iceland's government.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Are you a social butterfly, or do you prefer being at the edge of a group of friends? Either way, your genes and evolution may play a major role, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

AP - President Barack Obama wants automakers to make greener cars at a time when General Motors and Chrysler are hanging by the thread of a massive government loan and auto sales have plummeted to their lowest levels in more than two decades.

AP - The prosecutor in the impeachment trial of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (pronounced blah-GOY'-uh-vich) says his goal is not to punish the governor.

AP - The re-emergence of two former Guantanamo Bay prisoners as al-Qaida terrorists in the past week won't likely change U.S. policy on transfers to Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said Monday.

AP - Crouching against piled mattresses in a room crammed with refugees, Bissan Abu al-Eish focused on her homework, blocking out the relentless shrieks of dozens of toddlers and the stench of overflowing latrines.

AP - One of the biggest stars of this year's Academy Awards was born on Chicago's northwest side, brought into the world by Martin Vega and prepped for his big close-up by Eladio Gonzalez.

AP - There's Lip Stixx and Centerfolds and the Bliss Cabaret. There's Diamond Dolls and Bare Assets and the Wild Gentlemen's Club. In fact, there are, by one count, 43 strip clubs in the Tampa metropolitan area — one for each Super Bowl. And the week of Super Bowl XLIII is to Tampa's naughty nightlife what Black Friday is to America's shopping malls.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Timothy Geithner won confirmation as U.S. Treasury secretary on Monday as the U.S. Senate set aside misgivings about his past income tax problems in light of his experience battling the financial crisis.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - American Express Co said on Monday its fourth-quarter earnings tumbled 72 percent due to higher loan losses, lower customer spending and a strengthening U.S. dollar, but results beat expectations as it slashed costs.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama vowed on Monday that his new Middle East envoy George Mitchell would engage vigorously in the quest for Israeli-Palestinian peace and expressed confidence he would achieve concrete results.

AP - The nation has a new treasury secretary, and his name is Timothy Geithner.

AP - Many damaging effects of climate change are already basically irreversible, researchers declared Monday, warning that even if carbon emissions can somehow be halted temperatures around the globe will remain high until at least the year 3000.

AP - Gov. Rod Blagojevich's impeachment trial opened Monday with a vacant chair reserved for the governor, who boycotted the proceedings and instead spent the day on the TV talk-show circuit in New York, complaining he is being railroaded.

AP - A woman gave birth to eight babies in Southern California on Monday, the world's second live-born set of octuplets.

AP - The Kansas City Royals stood by Zack Greinke. Now, Greinke is standing by them.

Reuters - Timothy Geithner was sworn in as U.S. Treasury secretary on Monday a little more than an hour after the Senate approved him, and he vowed to move quickly to aid the distressed U.S. economy.

Reuters - President Barack Obama vowed on Monday that his new Middle East envoy George Mitchell would engage vigorously in the quest for Israeli-Palestinian peace and expressed confidence he would achieve concrete results.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Timothy Geithner won confirmation as U.S. Treasury secretary on Monday and vowed to act quickly to protect the U.S. economy from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - American Express Co said on Monday its fourth-quarter earnings tumbled 72 percent due to higher loan losses, lower customer spending and a strengthening U.S. dollar, but results beat expectations as it slashed costs.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Federal Reserve Bank said on Monday that it would name a new president on Tuesday to replace Timothy Geithner, who was sworn in as secretary of the U.S. Treasury on Monday night.

AP - Former President Jimmy Carter said Monday that Israel will face a 'catastrophe' unless it revives the Mideast peace process and establishes an independent Palestinian state.

Reuters - Timothy Geithner won confirmation as U.S. Treasury secretary on Monday and vowed to act quickly to protect the U.S. economy from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Reuters - American Express Co said on Monday its fourth-quarter earnings tumbled 72 percent due to higher loan losses, lower customer spending and a strengthening U.S. dollar, but results beat expectations as it slashed costs.

Reuters - The New York Federal Reserve Bank said on Monday that it would name a new president on Tuesday to replace Timothy Geithner, who was sworn in as secretary of the U.S. Treasury on Monday night.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - William Dudley, the head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank's markets group, has been chosen to succeed Timothy Geithner as president of the regional Fed bank, a source familiar with the decision said on Monday.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California woman shocked doctors by giving birth on Monday to octuplets, believed to be only the second set of eight babies born in the United States.

AP - Shaquille O'Neal had no problem with back-to-back games at the end of a road trip, scoring 29 points Monday night as the Phoenix Suns wrapped up a six-game East Coast swing with a 103-87 win over the Washington Wizards.

Reuters - William Dudley, the head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank's markets group, has been chosen to succeed Timothy Geithner as president of the regional Fed bank, a source familiar with the decision said on Monday.

AFP - President Barack Obama began to shred Bush administration climate policies, signing measures to encourage production of fuel-efficient cars and vowing to lead the fight against global warming.