U.S.

JPMorgan, Citigroup Helped Cause Lehman Illiquidity, Examiner Report Says JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. helped cause the illiquidity that led to the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holding Inc., the bankrupt bank’s examiner said today in a report filed in Manhattan federal court.

U.S. Stocks Gain as Health Care, Banks Send S&P 500 to Highest 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.

Dodd to Offer Financial-Rules Bill in Sign Talks With Republicans Failing Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said he will release his version of legislation to overhaul financial rules, signaling that talks on a compromise with Republican Bob Corker have collapsed.

Trade Deficit in U.S. Unexpectedly Shrinks as Oil, Automobile Imports Drop 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.

Goldman Sachs Internal Hedge Fund Head Flamand Said to Leave to Start Firm Pierre-Henri Flamand, the head of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s largest internal hedge fund, is retiring from the world’s most profitable securities firm to start a hedge fund, according to three people with knowledge of his plans.

KKR Leads $235 Million Debt Refinancing, Note Sale for Harden Healthcare KKR & Co., the private-equity firm run by Henry Kravis and George Roberts that’s expanding its investments outside traditional buyouts, led a $235 million refinancing for Harden Healthcare LLC.

Latin America

Chavez Outdone by Billionaire Mendoza as Wealth Soars Amid Takeover Threat Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s “21st Century Socialism” is failing to rein in billionaire Lorenzo Mendoza.

Brazil Recovery and Record Retail Surge Boost Chance of Interest Rate Hike Brazil’s fastest economic expansion in two years and a record jump in retail sales may prompt policy makers to start raising interest rates as early as next week.

Argentina's Biggest Agricultural Producer Tejar Weighs U.S. IPO on Demand El Tejar SA, Argentina’s largest agricultural producer, is weighing an initial public offering in New York to tap rising investor demand for farming assets.

Chile Inflation Bond Yields Rise to 6-Week High on Earthquake Funding Bets Chile’s inflation-linked bonds fell, pushing yields to their highest level in more than six weeks, on bets the government will boost local bond sales to help finance part of the reconstruction after the country’s worst earthquake in 50 years.

Vale Plans Its First Sale of Euro-Denominated Bonds Amid Expansion Drive Vale SA, the world’s biggest iron- ore producer, is seeking to sell its first bonds in euros amid plans to expand.

Venezuela Bolivar May Sink as Low as 9 Per Dollar This Year, Barclays Says 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.

Exclusive

Chavez Outdone by Billionaire Mendoza as Wealth Soars Amid Takeover Threat Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s “21st Century Socialism” is failing to rein in billionaire Lorenzo Mendoza.

Brown Tries to `Perversely' Benefit From U.K. Relapse Risk Before Election Gordon Brown is trying to turn the threat of a double-dip U.K. recession into an advantage.

Solar Prospectors Chase `Gold Mine' Deals in Chinese, Israeli Subsidies Olivier de Vergnies quit managing family fortunes at Dexia Private Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. in 2008 to run a New York start-up at 100 Wall St. that’s trying to tap riches in solar energy.

Chrysler in Hibernation Means Marchionne May Have to Wait on Fiat Spinoff Fiat SpA, the Italian carmaker that helped Chrysler Group LLC emerge from bankruptcy, may wait to turn around the U.S. business before deciding on a share sale or spinoff for its automotive division.

Red-Coral Rescue Plans Endanger Italian Jewelry Makers of Torre del Greco The people of Torre del Greco, 10 miles south of Naples, have lived off the red corals found in the Mediterranean Sea for more than two millennia. A proposal to list the species as endangered may push the seaside town’s $217 million-a-year coral industry into extinction.

Triple Whammy of Costs, Taxes, Inflation Sinks Stock Returns: Chart of Day U.S. stock investors made far less in the past half century than the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index’s performance would suggest, according to David Bianco, chief U.S. equity strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.