P eople who believe the old saw that whatever the markets do in January sets the pattern for the rest of the year must be battening down the hatches for stormy times ahead. The world’s leading stock indexes all finished the first month of 2010 in the red. Investors – especially those who never quite bought the bull-is-back story but didn’t want to miss the great rally of 2009 –pulled more money out of U.S

O ntario Teachers’ Pension Plan is eyeing a larger stake in an English water utility that first caught its eye five years ago. The pension fund is said to be preparing a $2.7-billion bid for the three-quarters of Northumbrian Water Group PLC it does not already own.

S enior executives from the Canadian and U.S. operations of Toyota Motor Corp. TM-N will take to the television airwaves this morning to explain how and when the auto maker will replace sticky accelerator pedals that have led to one of the largest vehicle recalls yet and a firestorm of negative attention

T he optimism that consumers felt heading into this year was short-lived, and has been overcome by nagging concerns over their debt loads. The economy is recovering its footing, thanks to consumers who provided it with a shoulder to lean on by taking advantage of exceptionally low interest rates to buy homes and other big-ticket items. But the tables are set to turn.