“The worse a situation becomes the less it takes to turn it around, the bigger the upside.” — George Soros.

1. German Industrial Production Unexpectedly Fell in December — Production fell 2.9 percent from November, when it stagnated, the Economy Ministry in Berlin reported.
2. Greece to Lay Off 15,000 Public-Sector Workers — according to WSJ, Greece has agreed to lay off 15,000 public-sector workers by the end of 2012, a government minister said Monday, as international pressure mounts on Athens to accept austerity measures needed to secure major new debt agreements.
3. Farmers Plan Biggest Crops Since 1984 — U.S. farmers will plant the most acres in a generation this year, led by the biggest corn crop since World War II, taking advantage of the highest agricultural prices in at least four decades. Drought damage in Brazil and Argentina will probably spur the USDA to cut its global and U.S. grain-supply forecasts for the current season on Feb. 9.
4. Greek bailout hopes rise amid ECB concession — European Central Bank reportedly agreed to exchange Greek government bonds at less than face value in an effort to further reduce the nation’s debt load.
5. Santorum sweeps to shock victories in three states — Rick Santorum has caused an upset in the GOP nomination race by surprisingly winning Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri, although none of the contests will result directly in the awarding of delegates.
6. Amazon and Viacom close to Web video deal — according to Reuter, Viacom, which owns TV shows and movies from MTV Networks, Nickelodeon and Paramount Studios, would be the latest of several partners Amazon has made deals with for its Prime Instant Video service. So far, major studios such as CBS Corp, Time Warner Inc’s Warner Bros, News Corp’s Fox, Sony Corp, Comcast Corp’s NBC Universal and Walt Disney Co have licensed programming to the retailer.
7. Banks and States Reached $26 Bil. Settlements — After more than a year of negotiations, the biggest banks, states and federal authorities announced the largest housing settlement ever — for more than $26 billion — over foreclosure practices that is expected to offer relief to more than one million U.S. homeowners. The settlement is with five big banks: Bank of America Corp (BAC), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co(JPM), Citigroup Inc. (C), Wells Fargo & Co.(WFC) and Ally Financial Inc., the company formerly known as GMAC.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:

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