U.S.

Alcoa Will Fire 13,500 Employees, 13% of Its Workforce, Slash Production Alcoa Inc., the world’s largest aluminum maker, announced a third production cut in as many months and related charges of as much as $950 million in response to declining demand and prices.

General Motors Says It Has Enough Funds to Survive Unless Economy Worsens General Motors Corp. has sufficient government loans pledged to cover the worst-case scenario it outlined in a December report to Congress and may not need more unless the economy worsens.

Dollar Strengthens After GM Says Government Bailout Should Ensure Survival The dollar rose for a sixth day against the yen, the longest run of gains in two years, after General Motors Corp. said rescue loans already pledged by the government should ensure the biggest U.S. automaker’s survival.

Black's Apollo Said to Be Among Largest Creditors in Lyondell Bankruptcy Apollo Management LP, the private- equity firm led by Leon Black, is among the largest creditors of Lyondell Chemical Co., which filed for bankruptcy protection in New York today, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

Madoff Victims May Start Getting Cash Within 2 Months, SIPC's Harbeck Says Investors who lost money in Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion fraud might begin recovering some of their funds as soon as next month, Securities Investor Protection Corp. President Stephen Harbeck said.

Apple Offers All ITunes Songs Without Copy Protection, Changes Price Model Apple Inc., the most popular source of music in the U.S., stripped copy protection from all the songs in its iTunes music store and announced plans to charge as little as 69 cents a track.

Latin America

Brazil, Colombia Sell $2 Billion of International Bonds as Exports Tumble Brazil and Colombia each sold $1 billion of bonds and Chile said it may also tap international markets, part of a push by developing nations to bring in dollars to offset a six-month tumble in commodity exports.

Bovespa Index Gains for Sixth Day, Best Win Streak in Year; Bolsa Drops Brazilian stocks rose for a sixth day, their longest winning streak in almost a year, as speculation government spending will help ease the global recession fueled a rally for commodity producers and homebuilders.

Chilean Consumer Prices Fell 1.2% Last Month, Biggest Decline Since 1966 Chilean consumer prices fell by the most in four decades last month, increasing the scope for the central bank to cut interest rates this week.

Vale Rallies to Highest in 12 Weeks on Speculation of Iron Ore Price Gains Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, the world’s biggest iron ore producer, climbed to the highest in three months on speculation lower stockpiles of the metal in China will bolster prices as a U.S. stimulus package eases the global recession.

Brazil's Real Advances to 2-Month High as Commodities Gains Spark Inflows Brazil’s real rose to the highest in almost two months as higher commodity prices accelerated trade investment inflows into Latin America’s largest economy and the government announced plans to sell $1 billion in bonds.

Chile Will Tap Sovereign Savings, Sell Securities to Spur Economic Growth Chile, the world’s biggest copper supplier, will tap sovereign savings and sell bonds to fund $4 billion in spending as the credit crisis and slumping export demand stifles growth.

Exclusive

Billionaire Merckle Died Within Sight of Factory He Founded 36 Years Ago German billionaire Adolf Merckle committed suicide by stepping in front of a train a few hundred yards from the factory he founded 36 years ago.

Marbella's Crooked Billionaire Spent Bribes on Stud Farm Guarded by Tiger As an urban planning adviser in the sun- drenched Spanish resort town of Marbella, Juan Antonio Roca had after- tax income of less than 150,000 euros a year.

Ameriprise Clients Left in Lurch With Paris Hilton Flop Among Rogue Deals Working out of an Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. branch in Orlando, Florida, Christopher Coulther offered his clients a deal that was hard to resist. Promising a 100 percent return on Costa Rican real estate, he enticed 98 people to invest almost $12 million.

Morgan Stanley Loses Ground in M&A Advisory to Moelis, Perella Boutiques Morgan Stanley lost ground counseling companies on takeovers last year as boutique advisory firms Moelis & Co. and Perella Weinberg Partners gained market share in the slowest period for deal-making since 2003.

Coal-Ash Spill May Strip TVA of `Exaggerated Deference' From U.S., States The deluge of ash from a coal-fired power plant that buried 300 acres of eastern Tennessee is sparking new state and federal scrutiny of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the largest U.S. public power company.

U.S. Stock Repurchases Plunge More Than Stock Prices: Chart of the Day U.S. companies pulled away from stock repurchases last year at an even faster rate than share prices dropped, according to figures compiled by Birinyi Associates.