Singapore’s exports jumped in December for the second straight month as global demand for the city-state’s electronics surged.

The recession has reached the executive suites of the nation’s public universities and colleges, putting a stop to a string of large annual pay increases for school presidents.

Asian stock markets were mixed Monday as worries about American consumers undermined confidence in the recovery of the world’s largest economy. European markets were higher.

The Senate faces some weighty issues when it reconvenes this week. Health care. A jobs bill. The debt ceiling.

With 88 bison from Yellowstone National Park facing possible slaughter, billionaire Ted Turner has swept in and offered to hold the animals for five years on his sprawling Montana ranch while a new home for them is found.

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said the central bank will keep monetary conditions accommodative to help pull the country out of deflation.

President Hugo Chavez on Sunday ordered the expropriation of a French-owned hypermarket chain that operates close to a dozen stores in Venezuela, accusing it of price speculation following the country’s currency devaluation.

Stocks got carried away about the recovery. That at least is one interpretation of two curious market moves so far this earnings season. Intel Corp. blew away expectations Thursday.

The euro is in a rough spot. And it could be there for years. The economic and financial crisis has ballooned budget deficits in Greece, Ireland and several other member countries — exposing one of the underlying vulnerabilities of Europe’s decade-old experiment in a multinational currency.

Asian stock markets were mixed Monday as worries about American consumers undermined confidence in the recovery of the world’s largest economy. European markets were higher.