Germany’s economic recovery unexpectedly lost momentum in the fourth quarter as output failed to grow from the previous three months, official data showed Friday.

The International Monetary Fund on Friday joined the European Union in pledging support for Greece in its struggle to bring its ballooning budget deficit under control and contain its debt crisis.

Health insurer WellPoint blames the Great Recession and rising medical costs for its planned 39 percent rate increase for some California customers. To President Barack Obama, however, it’s Exhibit A in his campaign to revive the health care overhaul.

Google Inc. wants the digital rights to millions of books badly enough that it’s willing to take on the U.S. Department of Justice in a court battle over whether the Internet search leader’s ambitions would break antitrust and copyright laws.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc , Buffalo Wild Wings Inc and BJ’s Restaurants Inc dashed high hopes that 2010 would be the year that the mid-tier restaurant industry makes a comeback.

After all the talk, some glimmers of real bipartisanship. Senate Democrats and Republicans are looking for a few dry patches of common ground, showing mixed results on a jobs bill and new hope for legislation aimed at avoiding another financial meltdown.

The Energy Department will likely report a 2 million-barrel build in crude oil reserves on Wednesday for the week ended Feb. 5, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

Stock futures are falling after China said for the second time in a month it would force banks to increase their reserve levels.

World markets lost earlier gains on Friday as investors worried about China’s decision to tighten its monetary policy to cool off growth and eurozone growth figures came in well below expectations.

Inventories held by businesses are expected to show an increase in December, a sign that companies are growing more optimistic about the future and starting to increase their orders to refill depleted shelves.