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• Nikkei edges down with BOJ move priced in Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 7:12 PM ET

  TOKYO, Jan 21- Japan's Nikkei share average edged down at Monday's open as the Bank of Japan began a two-day policy meeting, after expectations the central bank will take aggressive measures against deflation helped to push the benchmark last week to a 32- month high.

• WRAPUP 1- Algeria toll rises as attack claimed for al Qaeda Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 6:39 PM ET

  ALGIERS, Algeria, Jan 21- The death toll has risen to at least 48 hostages killed during a four-day siege at a gas plant deep in the Sahara as a veteran Islamist fighter claimed responsibility on behalf of al Qaeda for the attack. One-eyed veteran Islamist fighter Mokhtar Belmokhtar claimed responsibility on Sunday for the attack on behalf of al Qaeda.

• Nikkei seen edging up, expectations high for BOJ action Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 6:37 PM ET

  TOKYO, Jan 21- Japan's Nikkei share average was seen rising slightly on Monday as the Bank of Japan begins a two-day policy meeting, building its 31- month closing high logged in the previous session on expectations that the central bank will set a 2 percent inflation target.

• German SPD ousts Merkel coalition in state after close-run vote Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 6:26 PM ET

  HANOVER, Jan 20- Germany's centre left ousted Angela Merkel's conservatives in Lower Saxony on Sunday after winning a state election by a tiny majority, potentially reviving the Social Democrats' hopes of unseating the chancellor in a national vote in September.

• Algeria Hostage Crisis Death Toll Hits 80, Could Rise Further Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 6:05 PM ET

  Algerian troops found 25 bodies of hostages at a bomb-littered gas plant deep in the Sahara desert on Sunday, a day after ending a four-day siege, a security source said, raising the death toll of militants and their captives to at least 80.

• UPDATE 1-France lifts doubt over Dutchman as new Eurogroup head Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 6:05 PM ET

  PARIS, Jan 20- French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said on Sunday that he expected Dutch counterpart Jeroen Dijsselbloem to be appointed Eurogroup chief, suggesting Paris had bowed to the inevitable despite reservations about him.

• UPDATE 4-Dreamliner probe widens after excess battery voltage ruled out Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 5:56 PM ET

  WASHINGTON, Jan 20- U.S. safety inspectors on Sunday ruled out excess voltage as the cause of a battery fire last month on a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner jet operated by Japan Airlines Co and widened its efforts to include the battery's charger and the jet's auxiliary power unit.

• FOREX-Yen sees no reprieve as BOJ meeting looms Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 5:36 PM ET

  *Sterling weighed by weak UK retail sales data. SYDNEY, Jan 21- The yen sank to a fresh 2-1/ 2 year low against the greenback on Monday with investors giving the currency a wide berth in the lead up to a Bank of Japan meeting that could see the central bank commit to aggressive reflationary policy.

• UPDATE 1-U.S. Post Office cuts threaten source of black jobs Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 5:19 PM ET

  CHICAGO, Jan 20- While delivering mail on Chicago's North Side, Lakesha Dortch-Hardy spoke about how much she loves her job at the U.S. Postal Service, and how much it would hurt if jobs such as hers were to disappear. The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service has eliminated 168,000 jobs since 2006, and more cuts could result as it struggles to avoid its own "fiscal cliff."

• Among Asia's hedge funds, smaller was better last year Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 4:05 PM ET

  HONG KONG, Jan 21- For those investing into Asia's hedge funds last year, smaller was better. The region's largest hedge funds- those managing more than $500 million- delivered weaker returns on average than nimbler, small to medium-sized funds, according to fund research and people with knowledge of the individual funds.

• ANALYSIS-China upturn underscores need to rebalance economy Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 4:00 PM ET

  BEIJING, Jan 21- China's recovery from its longest slowdown in growth since the global financial crisis is being driven by the two forces posing the biggest risks to the economy's increasingly urgent need to rebalance- investment and property.

• Iron ore rally may hamper, not help, deals in Australia's Pilbara Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 3:59 PM ET

  *Fortescue rail, port stake sale key to several deals. Plans by the world's fourth-largest iron ore miner, Fortescue Metals Group, to sell a minority stake in its port and rail unit in the Pilbara could provide the crucial link for at least four companies planning to start or expand production- Atlas Iron, Brockman Mining, BC Iron and Flinders Mines.

• China's metrosexual men revive luxury shopping Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 3:59 PM ET

  HONG KONG/ MACAU, Jan 21- Let's hear it for the boys. China's fashion-forward men are snapping up Gucci and Burberry bags, driving a rebound in the luxury market months after a slow down in spending by the world's biggest luxury goods buyers spooked global investors.

• UPDATE 3-Snow hits London and Paris flights, more cuts seen Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 3:11 PM ET

  *Heathrow cutting 250 flights to cope with snow. LONDON/ PARIS, Jan 20- London's Heathrow Airport cancelled a fifth of flights on Sunday and airlines scrapped 40 percent of flights to Paris's main airports as snow blanketed parts of Europe, with more forecast. That number could rise, depending on conditions at other European airports, Heathrow said.

• UPDATE 1-Senior Democrat says US Senate to finally pass a budget this year Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 2:50 PM ET

  "We're going to do a budget this year and it is going to have revenue in it, and Republicans ought to get used to that," Schumer of New York, the Senate's No. 3 Democrat, told NBC's "Meet the Press."

• Ex-U.S. Attorney White eyed for top SEC post-source Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 2:39 PM ET

  WASHINGTON, Jan 20- Mary Jo White, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, is being considered as a candidate to head up the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a source familiar with the matter has confirmed.

• GLOBAL ECONOMY-Euro zone surveys to offer hope as Japan eases Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 2:00 PM ET

  *Japan gets serious in tackling stagnation and deflation. LONDON, Jan 20- The prospect of stronger European manufacturing surveys and decisive monetary easing in Japan this week ought to bolster confidence that the global economy can look forward to better days.

• FEATURE-U.S. Post Office job cuts threaten black middle class Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 1:43 PM ET

  CHICAGO, Jan 20- While delivering mail on Chicago's North Side, Lakesha Dortch-Hardy spoke about how much she loves her job at the U.S. Postal Service, and how much it would hurt if jobs such as hers were to disappear. The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service has eliminated 168,000 jobs since 2006, and more cuts could result as it struggles to avoid its own "fiscal cliff."

• UPDATE 3-NTSB rules out excess battery voltage in 787 incident Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 11:43 AM ET

  TOKYO/ WASHINGTON, Jan 20- The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board on Sunday ruled out excess voltage as the cause of a battery fire last month on a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner jet operated by Japan Airlines Co and widened its investigation to include the Arizona- based manufacturer of the battery's charger.

• Five militants captured alive at gas plant-Algeria security source Sunday, 20 Jan 2013 | 11:36 AM ET

  ALGIERS, Jan 20- Algerian special forces clearing the In Amenas gas plant captured five militants alive on Sunday, a security source said, bringing the number of militants who are believed to have participated in an attack on the facility to 37.. Algeria said it expected to raise its preliminary tolls for those killed in the four-day siege deep in the Sahara.