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JPMorgan, Citigroup Helped Cause Lehman’s Collapse (Update5) JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. helped cause the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holding Inc. by demanding more collateral and changing guarantee agreements, a bankruptcy examiner said today in a report.

GMAC’s Chief Said to Get $9 Million in Stock, No Cash (Update1) Michael Carpenter, GMAC Inc.’s chief executive officer, will get a 2010 pay package of about $9 million entirely in stock, and some or all won’t vest until later years, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

Japanese Stock Futures Rise on BOJ Speculation; Australia Gains Japanese stock futures rose on speculation the central bank will loosen monetary policies and after the yen weakened. Australian shares gained.

Turkey Sells $1 Billion of 11-Year Bonds in Overseas Markets Turkey sold $1 billion of 11-year dollar bonds in its first test of investor demand since ending financing talks with the International Monetary Fund.

Agrium Ends Yearlong Attempt to Acquire CF Industries (Update1) Agrium Inc. will let its $5.43 billion offer for CF Industries Holdings Inc. expire and won’t try to elect nominees to CF’s board, ending a yearlong attempt to take over the rival fertilizer producer.

Australian Home Prices to Keep Rising on Shortage, Council Says Australian home prices will keep rising due to a building and land shortage, according to a unit of the Property Council of Australia.

Gates Sees Backing for Iran Sanctions, Saudi Help (Update2) Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the U.S. has enough support to make tougher sanctions work against Iran and signaled that Saudi Arabia may try to persuade its biggest oil customer, China, to go along.

Harry Reid’s Wife Suffers Broken Back, Neck in Auto Accident U.S. Senate Majority Harry Reid’s wife suffered a broken neck and back in an auto accident today though her injuries are not life-threatening, his spokesman said.

Hong Kong Homes Set for ‘Another Good Year,’ Sun Hung Kai Says Hong Kong’s home market may see “another good year” in 2010 as buyers remain financially sound, according to Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd., the world’s biggest developer by market value.

U.S. to Focus on Getting Mideast Talks Started After Biden Flap The U.S. will try to keep a new round of Middle East peace talks on track after containing a diplomatic flap over Israeli home construction in east Jerusalem that marred Vice President Joe Biden’s trip to the region.

Corporate Credit Risk Rises as Markets Absorb New Debt Issuance The cost to protect against defaults on U.S. corporate bonds increased as credit markets had to absorb a 57 percent jump in weekly company debt sales.

Pfizer Says Two Cancer Drugs Fail in Clinical Trials (Update1) Pfizer Inc. said the cancer drug Sutent failed to meet its main goals in two late-stage studies of advanced breast tumors and the company stopped a late-stage trial of an experimental medicine for a type of lung malignancy.

Junk Bonds Pull Ahead as TXU, Freescale Soar: Credit Markets High-yield, high-risk bonds are beating investment-grade debt for the first time this year as confidence in the U.S. economic recovery gains strength.

Agrium to Terminate Offer to Buy CF Industries Agrium Inc. said it will no longer pursue an acquisition of CF Industries Holdings Inc. or the election of its nominees to the CF board of directors.

Euro May Rise to 5-Week High Against Yen: Technical Analysis The euro may rise to a five-week high against the yen after breaking through a key level of resistance, Ueda Harlow Ltd. said.

Dodd Ends Talks, Says Financial Bill Will Include Corker Ideas Senator Christopher Dodd, who today ended three weeks of talks with Republican Bob Corker on legislation to overhaul financial regulations, said elements they worked out will be in the bill he introduces next week.

Genzyme Recommends All Nine Directors for Re-Election (Update1) Genzyme Corp., the biotechnology company forced to halt production because of factory contamination, said it has recommended all nine directors on its board for re-election, according to a regulatory filing.

Buffett Gets $100,000 Berkshire Salary for 29th Straight Year Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. who pays the company for postage and personal phone calls, received a $100,000 salary for a 29th straight year as he arranged a $27 billion acquisition.

Aeropostale Rallies After Profit and Forecast Surpass Estimates Aeropostale Inc., the teen clothing retailer, climbed 5.8 percent in late New York trading after reporting a first-quarter profit forecast and fourth-quarter earnings that were higher than analysts’ estimates.

California Lifts Tax-Exempt Bond Sale to $2.5 Billion (Update2) California boosted the size of its debt sale to $2.5 billion, adding $500 million to its first issue of tax-exempt bonds since November after individuals placed orders for more than half the securities initially marketed, according to two people who have seen the offering information.

Biggest Rally in 76 Years Not Dead as Seers See Gains (Update2) Laszlo Birinyi will never forget the moment a year ago when the last ounce of confidence disappeared. Everyone from billionaire Warren Buffett to New York University Professor Nouriel Roubini was convinced that the economy was in a free-fall, that exploding deficits would devastate the dollar and that home prices were heading down as much as 20 percent.

U.S. Economy: Trade Deficit Unexpectedly Shrinks (Update3) The trade deficit in the U.S. unexpectedly narrowed in January as imports fell for the first time in five months, indicating demand is cooling following the fastest pace of growth in six years.

N.Y.’s Cuomo Appoints Former Judge to Oversee Probes (Update1) New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said today he appointed Judith Kaye, the state’s former chief judge, as an independent counsel to oversee investigations related to the conduct of Governor David Paterson.

Hologic Shares, Options Surge on Buyout Speculation (Update1) Hologic Inc. rose the most in a year and trading of bullish options was the highest since November 2006 on speculation the medical-imaging equipment maker will be acquired.

Corrections Corp. Guards Condone Prison Violence, Inmates Allege Corrections Corp. of America Inc., the biggest U.S. private prison operator, was sued by six prison inmates claiming the company has allowed the Idaho Correctional Center it built and manages for the state to become so violent that it’s known as “gladiator school.”

Venezuela Bolivar May Sink as Low as 9, Barclays Says (Update2) Venezuela’s bolivar may fall as low as 9 per dollar in the “worst scenario” as the government refrains from selling U.S. currency in the unregulated market to preserve foreign reserves, Barclays Plc said.

Health-Care Bill Path Complicated by Parliamentarian (Update2) Republicans said the Senate parliamentarian threw up a hurdle to congressional Democrats’ plans to pass changes to U.S. health-care legislation through a process called reconciliation.

Toyota Seeks 2010 Recovery for Most of Lost U.S. Market Share Toyota Motor Corp. set a 2010 goal of regaining most of the U.S. market share lost in the past two months after global recalls of 8 million vehicles damped demand, the No. 2 U.S. sales executive said.

U.S. Stocks Gain as S&P 500 Rallies to Highest Level Since 2008 U.S. stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to the highest level since October 2008, as Citigroup Inc. led a bank rally and investors speculated that health-care reform will be harder to pass.

Fannie Mae Sells Largest Benchmark Issue in 11 Months (Update2) Fannie Mae sold $6 billion of debt, its biggest offering of benchmark notes in 11 months, as the company boosts borrowing and cuts holdings to fund about $130 billion of planned purchases of delinquent loans from the mortgage securities it guarantees.

Flooding Rains Will Soak New York, New Jersey and Long Island A slow-moving storm will drop as much as 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain on New York City starting tonight and lasting until next week, according to the National Weather Service.

Obama Designates 10 Charities to Share in Nobel Money (Update1) President Barack Obama has designated 10 charities, including those that serve students and veterans, to get portions of his $1.4 million Nobel Peace Prize award, the White House announced.

Elliott Said to Consider Sale of Unit If Bid Succeeds (Update1) Elliott Associates LP, the fund manager that made an unsolicited $2 billion offer for Novell Inc., may consider selling the NetWare networking-software unit if its bid succeeds, a person familiar with the matter said.

‘Barbell’ Approach Best for High-Grade Debt in Asia, RBS Says Investors should employ a “barbell” strategy for investment-grade corporate debt, buying top-rated bonds and notes rated A or below to minimize risk, according to Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.

Retail LBOs are Back as Credit Freeze Abates, Buyout Firms Say Private-equity firms looking to buy retail and consumer companies said they’re now able to finance deals and pay reasonable prices after the credit crisis and global recession triggered a buyout slump.

Quake Shakes Pinera’s Plan to Spur Chilean Economy (Update3) Sebastian Pinera was inaugurated as Chile’s president today minutes after powerful earthquakes shook buildings in Santiago and Valparaiso, stirring memories of last month’s devastating 8.8-magnitude temblor.

GameStop Gains Most in Year on Takeover Speculation (Update2) GameStop Corp., the world’s largest video-game retailer, gained the most in almost a year in New York and trading of its bullish options jumped to a record on speculation that the company will be acquired.

California Democrats Want to End ‘Supermajority’ Budget Rule California’s two top Democratic lawmakers said they’ll propose constitutional amendments aimed at easing the budget process in the most populous U.S. state.

IYogi Karma Needs Work on PC Fix-It Service: Rich Jaroslovsky It’s late at night, and technology is tormenting you. Something’s wrong with your computer. Blood pressure climbing, you try your PC maker’s tech support, or maybe Microsoft’s. They say the glitch has nothing to do with their stuff -- it’s somebody else’s problem. Yours. What to do?

House Seeks 18-Month Extension of Build America Bonds (Update1) House Democrats will seek to extend interest-subsidized Build America Bonds in negotiations with the Senate over a jobs bill, acting House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin said.