Wall St edges lower after string of gains

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks closed slightly lower on Monday as lingering questions about Europe's debt crisis and corporate earnings overshadowed growing optimism about economic growth after a five-week rally.

Greeks delay bailout talks as Merkel demands action

ATHENS/PARIS (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Greece on Monday to make up its mind fast on accepting the painful terms for a new EU/IMF bailout, but the country's political leaders responded by delaying their decision for yet another day.

IMF's Blanchard sees "very large" Greek haircut

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The IMF's chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, said on Monday it looks like the 'haircut' on Greek private debt will be "very large" as negotiations between bondholders and the government drag on to cut Greece's debt burden.

Yum profit up as China keeps growing

(Reuters) - KFC parent Yum Brands Inc reported fourth-quarter profit that topped Wall Street's view after accelerating sales at established restaurants in China helped ease worries that growth in that key market was slowing.

Skepticism grows around Medco/Express Scripts deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Objections to Express Scripts' $29 billion plan to buy rival pharmacy benefits manager Medco Health Solutions are accumulating as U.S. antitrust regulators weigh whether they have enough evidence to stop the megamerger.

MF Global shortfall worsened as bankruptcy neared

(Reuters) - A shortfall in customer funds at MF Global Holdings' broker-dealer unit grew in the days before the company went bankrupt, as client money increasingly was used to pay for MF's daily activities, said the trustee liquidating the broker-dealer.

Analysis: Brent premium to U.S. oil set for another blowout?

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Brent crude's premium to U.S. oil could be poised for another record run after jumping 50 percent over the past week, as an expected build in Midwest inventories again exerts pressure on the U.S. benchmark.

Fed should raise rates in 2013, Bullard says

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve should start raising interest rates next year, a top Fed official said on Monday, arguing that many years of near-zero rates will do little to return economic output to pre-recession levels and risks causing "disaster."

Stanford used fake accounting to back bank: witness

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Allen Stanford used fake accounting to prop up his offshore bank in its waning days, as withdrawal requests from investors poured in, Stanford's former top deputy said on Monday.

787 glitch may pressure Boeing production outlook

(Reuters) - Boeing Co faces fresh questions over whether it can meet what was already viewed to be an overly ambitious production schedule for the 787 Dreamliner, after the aerospace company said it had found a problem with the jet's fuselage.