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U.S. Stocks Extend Gains After S&P Affirms Greek Credit Rating U.S. stocks extended gains after Standard & Poor’s affirmed Greece’s credit rating, easing concern that a default by the nation would threaten the economic recovery.

Dinallo Gets 15% of Campaign Funds From Insurers (Update1) Eric Dinallo, the former insurance superintendent running for New York attorney general, has received more than 15 percent of his campaign donations from the industry he regulated until July.

S&P Affirms Greece BBB+/A-2 Ratings; Off Watch; Outlook Neg Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services affirmed its BBB+ long-term and A-2 short-term sovereign credit ratings on Greece. The outlook is negative.

‘Historic Flooding’ Possible in U.S., NOAA Says (Update1) One-third of the U.S. faces a risk of “historic floods” in coming weeks, especially the upper Midwest states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa, according to forecasters.

Manitoba Borrowing Costs Fall Below Ontario’s: Canada Credit Manitoba’s cost of borrowing fell to less than Ontario’s for the first time since 2007, indicating the province’s debt may outperform its peers, as investors speculate on how quickly the Canadian provinces will emerge from the economic slowdown.

India Said to Propose Fund to Purchase Energy Assets (Update1) India may create a sovereign fund to help state companies compete for overseas energy assets with rivals from China, a government official said.

Housing Starts in U.S. Declined 5.9% in February (Update3) Housing starts in the U.S. fell in February as record snowfall in parts of the country hampered construction, while fewer building permits signaled demand is stagnating.

GE May Resume Increases to Dividend in 2011, Finance Chief Says General Electric Co. may resume increases to its quarterly dividend next year after reducing it from 31 cents a share to 10 cents in 2009, Chief Financial Officer Keith Sherin said today at a conference organized by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Moody’s Muni Bond Ratings Will Move to Global Scale Next Month Municipal debt rankings by Moody’s Investors Service will shift to a global rating system next month that will put the 70,000 state and local bonds it assesses on a scale that is comparable with corporate securities.

Dubai World Plan to Be ‘Fair,’ Sheikh Ahmed Says (Update1) Dubai World, the state holding company restructuring $26 billion in debt, will present creditors a “fair” plan to protect long-term relations with banks and contractors, Dubai’s fiscal committee head said.

Penn West to Raise Alberta Spending After Royalty Cut (Update1) Penn West Energy Trust, Canada’s largest conventional oil and natural-gas producing trust, will double spending in Alberta after the government lowered royalty rates, Chief Executive Officer Bill Andrew said.

Cancer Cost More Than Doubled in 40-Year War as Deaths Fell 16% The U.S. government has spent $100 billion funding cancer research since then-President Richard Nixon declared the “War on Cancer” in 1971, says an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Obama Aides See Jobless Rate Elevated for ‘Extended Period’ U.S. employers won’t hire enough workers this year to lower the jobless rate much below the level of 9.7 percent reached in February, three Obama administration economic officials said today.

AMR Attendants to Request U.S. Clearance for Strike (Update1) American Airlines’ flight attendants plan to seek federal clearance today to end contract talks and move closer to the first strike at a major U.S. carrier in almost five years.

BA Fights Strike With High-Density Seating, Cold Food (Update1) British Airways Plc will squeeze passengers into high-density planes with less legroom and no hot food as it seeks to minimize cancellations during a three-day strike by 12,000 cabin crew.

Iran Rejects ‘Carrot, Stick’ Strategy on Atomic Issue (Update1) Iranian parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said the “carrot and stick” strategy used against Iran by the “great powers” won’t halt its nuclear development.

Ex-Merrill Trader Is Banned for Mismarking Positions (Update2) Alexis Stenfors, a former senior trader at Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch unit in London, was banned for at least five years from holding a similar position after he mismarked positions to cover up losses.

U.S. Stocks Fluctuate Before Federal Reserve Statement on Rates U.S. stocks fluctuated, a day after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed at a 17-month high, as investors awaited a statement from the Federal Reserve about the outlook for the economy and interest rates.

‘Avatar’ Will Be Released on Blu-Ray, DVD April 22 (Update1) “Avatar,” the world’s highest- grossing film, will be released on Blu-ray and DVD April 22 in the U.S. and Canada, News Corp. announced.

Google China Fate May Be Decided Amid License Reviews (Update1) Google Inc.’s fate in China may be decided this month as Internet-service licenses come up for renewal, amid growing speculation a censorship row with the government will drive the U.S. company from the country.

Stocks, Commodities Gain, Dollar Weakens Before Fed Statement Stocks and commodities rose amid dwindling concern U.S. banking regulations will hurt profits and speculation the Federal Reserve will signal plans to keep interest rates at a record low for much of the year. The dollar fell and 10-year Treasury yields were near a one-week low.

Investors Buy Stocks as Rate-Hike Concern Eases, Merrill Says Risk appetite rebounded as concern eased that interest rates will have to rise later this year to cool inflation, prompting investors to cut cash holdings and buy equities, a BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research report showed.

Russia May Introduce Convict Labor on Soviet Model, RG Reports Russia may reintroduce convict labor based on the Soviet model as an alternative to incarceration as part of an overhaul of the prison system, Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported.

EU Finance Ministers Fail to Agree on Hedge-Fund Law (Update2) European Union finance ministers failed to agree on a draft law to regulate hedge funds and private equity firms, which the U.K. and U.S. said may hurt their industries.

Renault, Daimler Said to Stumble on Share-Swap Talks (Update2) Daimler AG and Renault SA have been unable to resolve differences over valuations as the carmakers explore a share swap that would bring Daimler into the Renault- Nissan alliance, two people familiar with the matter said.

EU Paves Way to Aid Greece, Sows Doubts Over Euro Management Europe’s blueprint for a financial lifeline to Greece amounts to an unprecedented bet by finance ministers that they can avert a euro crisis by sidestepping the no-bailout rules intended to sustain the 11-year-old currency.

Citigroup Aids Unit as Volcker Rule Spurs Defectors (Update1) Citigroup Inc., the bank 27 percent owned by the U.S., is bolstering a unit that trades stocks with the lender’s own money after a proposed government ban of proprietary trading helped spur eight of its 22 employees to defect, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

U.S. Import Prices Decreased More Than Anticipated (Update2) Prices of goods imported into the U.S. fell in February more than anticipated, a sign there is little inflation pressure coming from abroad.

Swedish Match Targets Wall Street Smokers With Snus Tobacco Swedish Match AB plans to broaden U.S. availability of snus smokeless tobacco and increase marketing to target Wall Street workers and other smokers forced to leave the office to light up.

Thai Protesters Dump Blood at Abhisit’s Office, Party (Update1) Thai protesters dumped bottles of their own blood outside the office and party headquarters of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, whose rule they say is illegitimate and should end.

Pelosi Says Democrats to Have Votes for Health Bill (Update1) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, still shoring up support for legislation to overhaul the U.S. health- care system, vowed that Democrats will be ready to pass the bill when the time comes.

Deutsche Bank’s Epley Said to Leave for Nomura Job (Update1) Mark Epley, head of Deutsche Bank AG’s team that caters to private-equity firms, is leaving to take a job at Nomura Holdings Inc., said a person with knowledge of his plans.

Limbaugh Embraces Costa Rica Socialized Medicine (Update1) Talk-radio king Rush Limbaugh’s model health-care system may be one of Latin America’s longest- standing state-run programs, where 98 percent of the population is covered and private insurance is rare.

Shipping Market Is Worst Since World War II, James Fisher Says The world shipping market is mired in its biggest slump since World War II, said James Fisher & Sons Plc, a U.K. hauler of oil products.

German Investor Confidence Declines for Sixth Month (Update2) German investor confidence dropped for a sixth month in March amid signs the economy is struggling to expand and as Greece’s fiscal crisis shakes financial markets.

China ‘More Concerned’ About Iran’s Nuclear Policy (Update2) China is growing more concerned about Iran’s nuclear intentions, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said at a joint press conference with his U.K. counterpart.

Iraqi Alliance Led by Maliki Seeks Talks With Rivals (Update1) Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki’s political bloc said it would hold talks with rival parties on forming a government after results showed the alliance leading in the March 7 parliamentary election.

Deutsche Bank Paid ‘Risk Takers’ 2.2 Billion Euros in Bonuses Deutsche Bank AG, Germany’s biggest bank, paid 2.2 billion euros ($3 billion) in bonuses last year to employees who can conduct “high-risk” business.

Merrill Hires Reilly as Head of Asia Equity Trading (Update3) Bank of America Merrill Lynch appointed Gene Reilly, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. partner, as head of Asia-Pacific equity execution services, at least the third senior hire from the rival in six months.

EU Lays Groundwork for Greek Lifeline to Bolster Euro (Update3) European finance ministers laid the groundwork for a financial lifeline to debt-stricken Greece, breaking a taboo against aid to cash-strapped governments in order to avert a crisis for the euro.