UNITED STATES

The federal judge overseeing MF Global Holdings Ltd's bankruptcy appointed one law firm to represent brokerage employees who claimed to be fired unfairly, ending a vitriolic battle for that role.

Stocks fell on Monday after Greece's efforts to reach a debt restructuring with creditors stalled, hampering European leaders' push to shift the market's focus to jobs and growth.

U.S. home prices are expected to continue to fall in S&P/Case-Shiller Housing Index data through November 2011, to be released on Tuesday, Jan. 31.

China lost an appeal at the World Trade Organization on Monday in a case about its export restrictions on raw materials, a ruling that could make it harder for major commodity exporters to withhold supplies on the global market.

The crackdown on rogue file-sharing and online storage site Megaupload intensified with the Feds announcing that the hosting providers of Megaupload will begin deleting files of at least 50 million users starting Thursday, Feb. 2.

Justin Hoyer and Langely McNeal stole the show at the 2102 Winter X Games, which ended yesterday. Held in Aspen, Colo., the 2012 X Games didn't fail to make headlines between injuries, controversies and records.

Weakness in banks and commodity stocks dragged Britain's leading share index lower on Monday as the protracted search for a Greek bond deal and concerns about economic growth kept investors nervous.

U.S. consumer spending was flat in December as households put the largest rise in income in nine months into their savings, potentially signaling slower consumption early in 2012.

Carnival Corp. on Monday said it would take a $155 million to $175 million hit against net income in fiscal 2012, blaming the Costa Concordia cruise ship catastrophe.

The PlayStation Vita--the latest handheld gaming system from Sony--will soon reach North America, and rabid gamers are geeking out while waiting for the release date, Feb. 22, unless they've pre-ordered the first edition bundle pack. The PS Vita will have a base price of $249.99 or a bundle pack with games for $349.99.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates announced Monday that his charitable foundation will contribute $363 million over the next five years to the fight to stop neglected tropical diseases worldwide.

U.S. skier Langely McNeal claimed that she was disqualified from the Women's Skier X final at the X Games because of a Sarah Burke tribute on her thigh and a hairtie around her boot.

Data from Megaupload and Megavideo could be deleted as soon as Thursday, federal prosecutors said

Gold eased on Monday, under pressure from a weaker euro, but was off session lows and still within sight of last week's seven-week highs, supported by evidence of improved investor demand.

Consumer spending was flat in December as households took advantage of the largest rise in income in nine months to boost their savings, setting the tone for a slowdown in demand early in 2012.

As Obama's Google Plus Hangout looms, his YouTube channel has attracted some controversial questions he likely didn't expect to face during today's post-State of the Union conversation.

In a remarkable statement to CNBC this morning, one of the most important dissenting voices within the Federal Reserve said the U.S. central bank's assesment of the economy is too pessimistic, and will likely change as the year progresses. Even more notably, he stated the Fed will likely begin raising benchmark interbank lending rates before mid-2013 -- a direct contradiction on a statement by the Fed last Wednesday.

Asia's central bankers have yet another reason to hesitate now that the U.S. Federal Reserve looks likely to keep interest rates low for longer.

U.S. safety regulators have upgraded an investigation into almost 387,000 Jeep Liberty sport utility vehicles for potential inadvertent airbag deployment, increasing the possibility of a recall.

The first crash report providing details of the horrific crash in Florida, which caused a pileup on Interstate 75 early Sunday, has been released, according to The Gainesville Sun.

Facebook's initial public offering is likely to set a new standard for how low investment banks are willing to go on advisory fees to win big business.