• Mitt Romney edged out Rick Santorum in the Iowa caucuses. Think of all the press, campaign spending, national attention. 122,255 people voted. Romney got 30,015 of them and Santorum 30,007. Santorum offers a more conservative alternative to Romney for Republican voters, yet there is a big question mark as to whether he’s got the funding to make a long run. New Hampshire is next in the race. From The Wall Street Journal.
• Asset manager PIMCO’s Total Return fund saw outflows in December of $1.4B, and $5B for 2011. That follows 2010 with outflows of $6.7B. The firm has struggled to regain the spotlight as the “go to” bond fund after manager Bill Gross made the wrong bet on U.S. Treasuries. That asset class saw a total return of 17% in 2011. From Reuters News.
• After announcing plans to close over 100 stores Sears hired Ron Boire, an expert in retailing to spruce up their properties. Years of ignoring the shopping experience has decimated sales and the stock price. Mr. Boire has his work cut out. From The Wall Street Journal.
• Analysts call for bank earnings to increase by 57% in 2012, according to a Bloomberg review of 184 estimates. Investment banking revenue sources are expected to recover as markets “normalize”. The equity markets need them to be right to perform this year. From Bloomberg News.