Obama again pushes the Senate to confirm Cordray
President Obama is re-nominating former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

He’s been in the job for a year, but as a recess appointment. Republican Senators had blocked his original nomination, not because they opposed Cordray, but because they said the agency would have too much power and should be overseen by a board and more closely by Congress.

The president plans to announce his nomination of Cordray this afternoon, and of  U.S. attorney Mary Jo White to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. He plans to stress aggressive enforcement of consumer protections and of Wall Street reforms.

Timken earnings take a hit
The Timken Co. is reporting that its fourth-quarter earnings dropped by nearly a third, and is forecasting that its entire 2013 earnings will be well down from 2012.

The specialty steel and roller-bearings maker says sales fell by 14 percent largely because of less demand in the vehicle and mining markets in North America and Europe. It says business is up in Asia. Overall, it expects sales will be about 5 percent less than last year, largely because of less demand in oil and gas drilling markets.  

Kasich touts Ohio in Switzerland
Ohio Gov. John Kasich is in Switzerland, addressing an international economics conference about Ohio's economic growth. In a text of his speech, Kasich says a key to growth is job-training programs that meet employers’ demands.  He says the reason Ohio has led the nation in job creation is tax cuts, a balanced budget and a “more jobs-friendly climate.”

Critics of the governor say the economic recovery began before he took office in 2011, and that his balanced state budget has hurt local goverments and schools and shifted the tax burden to local communities.  

Liberal groups accuse GOP of trying to rig future elections
Liberal groups are raising an alarm about purported plans by Republican lawmakers to change Ohio from a winner-take-all presidential contest to one in which the Electoral College votes are proportionally divided.

The plan is being considered by a number of states and was  endorsed by Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus. A group called the Center for American Progress Action Fund says the move to divide electoral votes is directed at states that went for President Obama, while those that vote regularly for Republicans would remain single-blocks.

Lima settles suit
The city of Lima is collecting about $227,000 as part of a class-action lawsuit against the manufacturer of an herbicide that ended up in the municipal water supply. The Lima News reports Lima and other cities are getting the money in a settlement with Swiss-based Syngenta.

Federal drug indictments
 A U.S. grand jury has indicted 16 people from Northeast Ohio on charges of  drug trafficking and money laundering. The allegations are tied to a ring that brought cocaine, heroin and marijuana from Chicago to Cleveland for six months last year.  The accused ringleader is  Richard Price of Cleveland, who also faces firearms charges.