. >> susie: merrill lynch has agreed to pay $10 million to settle charges it used information on orders from customers to trade on its own behalf. the s.e.c. says the brokerage piggybacked its own trades based on what its institutional clients were doing. that's considered securities fraud. merrill admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement. the questionable trades were made in the years before merrill was bought by bank of america. >> tom: the owners of a new web site think you'll be willing to pay seven bucks a month for stuff you can get for free elsewhere online. the site is called ongo.com. it pulls together news stories in one place-- no advertising. backers include publishers like "the new york times," "washington post," and "usa today." they hope readers will pony up cash for a one-stop, simple, aggregated news site with a clean, easy to read format. euu? >> susie: canada's prime minister has declared this the year of the entrepreneur. he wants the private sector there to lead the charge of economic recovery by spurring innovation and job creation. tonight's commentator has a m

from four percent to three point eight percent while performance has been slightly disappointing i think merrill lynch believes the economy is accelerating. growth will accelerate into two thousand and eleven within the growth will be around four and a half percent from a little bit less than four percent in two thousand and ten in fact globally bank of america merrill lynch russia is one of the four economies with for the most going into two thousand and eleven the other three gonna mature china india and indonesia but definitely russia is one of the economies if you like the malls. and mergers and acquisitions were among the top drivers last year with russia's tourist market catching investors' eyes european tour giant thomas cook took control of russia's oldest vacation business interest the forty five million dollars deal gives the european firm just over fifty percent of an iconic brand with a large retail chain as well as getting an option over the remainder russians are known as big holiday spenders the joint operation will help thomas cook capitalize on strong russian demand for beach breaks a

growth from four percent to three point eight percent while the performance has been slightly disappointing event from merrill lynch believes the economy is excited rating. we think that growth will accelerate into two thousand and eleven we think growth will be around four and a half percent from a little bit less than four percent in two thousand and ten in fact globally at bank of america merrill lynch one of the four economies with two preferred the most going into two thousand and eleven the other tree connoisseur china india and indonesia but definitely russia is one of the economies that you like the most. russia has set to new orleans last year beating even pre-crisis heights energy ministers figures show it was the only country to produce more than ten million barrels of oil per day korean crisis stimulated output the next biggest producer saudi arabia provided only eight and a quarter million barrels a day in recent months russian oil output rose in total by more than two percent throughout the year outstripping and us. that's your business update for the sol but you can always find more stories from our

from four percent to three point eight percent while performance has been slightly disappointing ivanchuk from merrill lynch believes the economy is accelerating. growth will accelerate into two thousand and eleven within that growth will be around four and a half percent from a little bit less than four percent in two thousand and ten in fact globally at bank of america merrill lynch russia is one of the four economies that do prefer the most going into the dozen and eleven the other three going to miss or china india and indonesia but different your russia is one of the economies that you like the most. russia's entry to the world trade organization is slowly becoming a reality in the country's security e.u. backing last year after lowering export texas and rail fees next comes of cream limits on farming subsidies and meat quarters but some industries see trouble ahead the court reports on how the end is in sight for russia seventeen year journey to joining. well it's very easy tempers are flaring meat and vegetable growers say that russia is too big and too cold to compete with foreign agriculture on a l

>> well, katie, the president effectively has already sent a message to business with two recent appointments. the first was former merrill lynch executive william daley as his new chief of staff. the second was g.e.'s c.e.o., jeffrey immelt, as the head of the new white house council on jobs. both signaled a more conciliatory approach towards business. as did the president's pledge last week to cut regulatory red tape. i think we can expect more of that tonight. >> couric: also, anthony, i know unemployment is down slightly to 9.4% but it's been over 9% for a record 20 straight months now. so tell us about the state of the economy. >> well, it really depends where you look, katie. the housing market is still struggling. a report out today showed prices declined for the fourth straight month, 19 out of 20 markets showed price drops. but corporate profits are up, that's why the dow is now within striking distance of 12,000 and we haven't been there since back in 2008. in another survey, more than 40% of companies said they plan to hire within the next six months. google alone says they will hire 6,000 more workers in 2011. so le

america merrill lynch strategist steven de sanctis believes small caps are overpriced, relative to the earnings growth they are likely to deliver this year. >> obviously, the economic news has been a little bit better, but the growth rates aren't going to be that substantial. and to generate 20-plus percent earnings growth seems hard to envision. and so with that, i think estimates will fall. with estimates falling, small cap performance should lag. >> reporter: de sanctis is not saying bail on small caps entirely. he believes they should always be a portion of a person's portfolio, regardless of market conditions. he just doesn't think now is a good time to increase that weighting, expecting the russell will gain high single digits this year. >> our firm's viewpoint is that large caps will be in the mid- teens in terms of their return possibility. so there will be a pretty wide spread between large caps and small caps this year. >> reporter: how small caps fare this year matters to more than just investors. smaller companies tend to be more domestically-focused. so when they do well, it's typically a sign the u.s. economy is improving. erika miller, "nightly business repor

has the details. >> timothy, again, alan greenspan take your place in our rogue's gallery alongside: sacks, merrill lynch, and the villains named in the final report by the financial crisis commission. the report includes graphic evidence of the effect of their collective failures. it shows how the housing out meltdown delivered a staggering blow. wiping out 15 trillion dollars, far more than the dock, bubble burst calif., arizona, florida. those are the sand estates. this is how home prices rose and fell over 20 years. their rest of the country's laws smaller variations. the report blames schoolman stock merrill lynch for not telling investors about its financial condition. and the federal reserve to stop troubling practices. the offense under greenspan commanded a pitiful failure. and new york could of rain is some of the large banks. the nightmare is the treasury said retiree. >> the president put effort into wall street reform, to ensure, what happened to leading up to and during that crisis never repeats itself. >> the presidential commission was modeled on the bipartisan board set up to look at the