PetroChina Co. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc deepened their collaboration in exploring unconventional gas resources with the Chinese company investing in a Canadian project and the European oil producer pledging to help it step up drilling to tap shale reserves in the second-largest economy.

Bonds of mining companies Kinross Gold Corp. and Xstrata Finance Canada are leading gains among U.S.  dollar-denominated debt as investors bet borrowing costs near record lows will sustain Canada’s commodities boom.

Investments in commodities are expanding at the quickest pace in six years on signs of rising economic growth, even as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. warn that some prices have rallied too fast.

United States

Employers probably increased payrolls in January, a sign companies are gaining confidence the U.S.  expansion will weather Europe’s slump, economists said before a report today.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke defended the central bank’s newly established price goal and rejected suggestions he was prepared to allow higher inflation to create jobs.

Corporate bond sales are mounting a comeback globally, with U.S. issuance climbing 75 percent from last week as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S.  Bernanke highlights “signs of improvement” in the world’s biggest economy.

Europe

Spain’s new government gave banks an extra year to recognize losses if they agree to merge, as it tries to overhaul the financial industry crippled by the collapse of the nation’s property boom four years ago.  For Mick Davis, the 53-year-old South African who runs Xstrata Plc, the approach from commodities trader Glencore International Plc is unlikely to prompt him to surrender the helm of the mining company he built through a decade of deal making.

Asia

Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn said the monetary authority will cut interest rates once it’s confident inflation will keep slowing.  Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao raised the prospect of contributing to the euro-area’s bailout programs, telling Chancellor Angela Merkel that China may be prepared to assist in resolving its debt crisis.