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• Retail Sales Get Auto Boost; Inflation Remains Tame

  

  Retail sales rose more than expected in December while wholesale prices remained low, suggesting inflation is in check.

• Fitch Warns of US Downgrade Over Debt Fight

  

  Failure to raise the debt ceiling within a "timely" manner would see the United States' sovereign ratings put under formal review with "highly uncertain" consequences, rating agency Fitch warned U.S. policymakers Tuesday.

• Dell Buyout Has '50-50' Chance: Billionaire Ross

  

  There's a "50-50 chance" that Dell would be taken private, PE billionaire Wilbur Ross told CNBC.

• Euro Zone's Poster-Child Faces a New Crisis

  

  Protests, a mutiny among politicians calling for the prime minister's resignation, billions in bad debt, and an economic recovery on hold — just a few of the challenges facing Slovenia.

• Roubini: No Need to Panic Over Debt Ceiling, Yet

  

  Gloomy economic diktats and predicting the financial crisis have earned economist Nouriel Roubini the title Dr. Doom, but in his latest interview the economics professor said the United States had little to fear, despite ongoing fiscal negotiations and the looming debt ceiling.

• Stocks Looking Beyond Debt Ceiling, for Now

  

  Stocks are so far looking past the brewing congressional debt ceiling drama but that could change quickly if it becomes very contentious.

• Surging Junk Bond Prices Point to Return of Bulls

  

  The junk-bond market is sending a bullish signal for the global economy in 2013, with investors in US high-yield securities earning higher returns so far this year than those who have bought investment-grade debt. The FT reports.

• Younger Americans Have More Credit-Card Debt Problems: Study

  

  American credit card holders in their late 20s and early 30s have more debt than older consumers, repay it more slowly and risk dying in debt if they don't curb their spending habits.

• Lance Armstrong Backer Who Put His Faith in Cyclist

  

  When Armstrong's Oprah interview airs, an investment banker will most likely be watching, NYTimes reports.

• Lennar Profit Soars as Deliveries Jump; Shares Fall

  

  Lennar's quarterly profit handily beat Wall Street expectations and the homebuilder reported a seventh straight jump in new home orders.

• Unique Converted Homes 2013

  

  These residences were created from buildings that formerly served other purposes, like churches, water towers, a hospital and more.

• New York Has Gun Deal, With Focus on Mental Ills

  

  Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and legislative leaders tentatively agreed on Monday on a broad package of changes to gun laws that would expand the state’s ban on assault weapons and would include new measures to keep guns away from the mentally ill. The NYT reports.

• This Could Be the Biggest Risk for Markets in 2013

  

  Political instability in emerging markets, led by China, will be one of the biggest risks for markets in 2013, Ian Bremmer, president of political risk firm Eurasia Group, said on Monday.

• Goldman Sachs Unleashes Wave of Banker Bashing

  

  Goldman Sachs provoked a furious reaction in Westminster after it emerged that the U.S. investment bank was mulling a plan to delay its U.K. bonus payments to take advantage of the imminent cut to the top rate of tax, the Financial Times reports.

• Payroll Tax Hike Likely to Take Bite Out of Economy

  

  The sting from higher taxes in your first 2013 paycheck is also going to sting the economy this year, particularly in the first quarter.

• Number of US Working Poor Families Grows as Wealth Gap Widens

  

  The number of U.S. families struggling with poverty despite parents being employed continued to grow in 2011 as more people returned to work but mostly at lower-paying service jobs.

• Bernanke: 'Not Out of the Woods'

  

  Although the "fiscal cliff" deal made "some progress" in resolving the nation's debt problem, "we're not out of the woods yet," Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday.

• Dell in Talks to Go Private, Shares Surge

  

  Dell is in talks with private equity firms on a potential buyout, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, confirming reports that sent shares in the world's No. 3 PC maker soaring 13 percent to nearly a eight-month high.

• 10 Mega-Trends for 2013

  

  Projecting trends is precarious business. But there are a lot of likelihoods for 2013. The economy is expected to grow, new technology releases will change consumer behavior, and demographic shifts will hit tipping points. Here are predictions for 2013.

• You Just Can’t Keep This Currency Down

  

  Forget a weakening economy and the prospect of further monetary easing. Here's what will keep the Aussie dollar robust in the months ahead - a rebound in commodity prices and even lower interest rates among the world's big economies.