This Week In Business and Politics

1. Commodity trader Glencore and mining company Xstrata announced the details of a proposed $90 billion merger.  The announcement came after Xstrata revealed a 20% increase in profits in 2011.  The newly formed company will be the world's largest exporter of coal for power plants and the largest producer of zinc.  Tentatively, Glencore would own 55% of the new enterprise.

2. Multinational natural resource corporation Rio Tinto announced a record annual profit of $15.5 billion.  However, the company also booked an $8.9 billion expense related to the falling value of aluminum.

3. BP posted a 38% spike in quarterly profit at $7.7 billion and increased its shareholder dividend for the first time since the 2010 oil well disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.  However, the company is preparing for oil spill lawsuits, which are expected to start later this month.  CEO Bob Dudley said on Tuesday that the company is ready to settle approximately 600 civil lawsuits.

4. Online coupon company Groupon announced its first set of public quarterly earnings after its initial public offering.  Instead of netting a profit, the company revealed it suffered a $43 million loss.  The markets reacted to the negative news by sending the price of Groupon shares downward.

5. China and Russia blocked a UN Security Council resolution that condemned the violence in Syria and called for President Bashar Assad to step down.  The government crackdown on protestors has become increasingly bloodier over the past 2 weeks, leaving thousands dead in the rebel-held area of Homs.  The United States has closed its embassy and several European countries have withdrew their ambassadors from the country.

6. Egyptian officials announced that 43 charity workers, including 19 Americans will be put on trial for illegally receiving foreign funds.  The capital city Cairo continued to experience protests between police and demonstrators following the deaths of 74 people in clashes at a soccer game in Port Said.

7. Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum won party caucuses in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri while Mitt Romney easily defeated challengers in Nevada.