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German finance ministry unaware of Greek bailout deal (Reuters)

Reuters – The German Finance Ministry said on Saturday it was not aware of any agreement by euro zone members to provide a multi-billion euro bailout package for heavily indebted Greece.

Adobe CEO 2009 pay package down 68 percent (AP)

AP – Shantanu Narayen, the president and CEO of software maker Adobe Systems Inc., was awarded compensation valued at $5.2 million in fiscal 2009, a 68 percent decline in a year that saw the recession weaken demand for its products.

China fires back at US human rights criticisms (AP)

AP – China accused the United States of destabilizing the world economy and meddling in other countries’ affairs Friday — its standard response to Washington’s annual review of Beijing’s human rights record.

Global oil demand seen higher in 2010 (AP)

AP – World oil demand will rise this year due to surging economic activity in Asian countries, especially China, the International Energy Agency said Friday as it bumped up its forecasts.

States tap stimulus as more U.S. families seek aid (Reuters)

Reuters – Many states have used funds from the $863 billion U.S. economic stimulus plan to help give a rising number of poor families emergency cash assistance, the Government Accountability Office said on Thursday.

Kali+Salz’ Q4 net income falls 93 pct to $22M (AP)

AP – German salt and fertilizer company Kali+Salz AG said Thursday that its fourth-quarter net income plunged 93 percent to euro16 million ($22 million) as the downturn significantly affected demand in global agricultural markets.

Axel Springer 2009 net income falls 45 percent (AP)

AP – German publisher Axel Springer AG said Wednesday that net income fell 45 percent in 2009 to euro314 million ($427 million), with a drop in demand for newspapers and magazines mitigated only partially by new Internet revenues.

German January exports up 0.2 percent on year (AP)

AP – Official data shows German January exports improved 0.2 percent compared with January 2009 but declined a sharp 6.3 percent from December.

E.On 2009 net income up sharply to $11.4 billion (AP)

AP – Germany energy company E.On AG said Wednesday that 2009 net income rose sharply to euro8.4 billion ($11.4 billion) partly as a result of the disposal of assets.

When You Were Just A Twinkle In A Cro-Magnon’s Eye

In the grand scheme of things, humans are mere infants on this planet. Some creatures alive today were swimming under the sea during the U.S. Civil War or photosynthesizing when the Egyptian pyramids were being built. Here are six of the oldest living things on the planet.