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Jon Corzine is expected Tuesday to once again distance himself from an estimated $1.2 billion in customer money that vanished when MF Global collapsed this fall.

This time, Corzine will have company.

Bradley Abelow, MF Global’s president and chief operating officer, and Henri Steenkamp, the chief financial officer, are also scheduled to testify to the Senate Agriculture Committee.

All three say they don’t know where the money is, according to prepared remarks and Corzine’s previous testimony to a House panel last week. Nor do they take responsibility for authorizing the movement of money out of customer accoun.

Depending on the circumstances, transferring money from customers’ accounts could violate securities laws and, in some cases, could amount to a crime. Federal authorities have begun criminal investigations. And regulators are looking into whether the firm broke securities rules.

MF Global collapsed into the eighth-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history on Oct. 31 after a disastrous bet on European debt. Corzine stepped down as CEO on Nov. 4.

Corzine told the House Agriculture Committee last week that he didn’t know what happened to the money. He said he didn’t become aware of the shortfall until Oct. 30, one day before the firm filed for bankruptcy protection.

In his prepared testimony, Steenkamp says he had no direct involvement in the transfer of funds.

“Direct involvement with operational matters such as bank accounts or fund transfers has never been part of my duties,” Steenkamp says.

Abelow says he cannot explain what happened to the money without having access to MF Global documents, which a trustee now controls.

“At this time … I do not know the answers to those questions,” he says in his prepared testimony.

Anthony Sabino, a law professor at St. John’s University in New York, said Steenkamp and Abelow “are in a riskier position” than Corzine because they were responsible for day-to-day operations of MF Global.

Tuesday’s hearing will include an added element of drama because Corzine, a former Democratic senator from New Jersey, will be pressed by some senators he served with from 2000 through 2005 payday loans.

The Senate panel is one of three congressional committees to have issued subpoenas to compel Corzine’s testimony on the issue. It marked the first time a former senator has been subpoenaed by his former peers in more than 100 years, according to the Senate historian’s office.

Many lawmakers have heard from farmers, ranchers and small business owners in their states who are missing money that was deposited with the firm. Agricultural businesses use brokerage firms like MF Global to help reduce their risks in an industry vulnerable to swings in oil, corn and other commodity prices.

Corzine, who also was New Jersey governor from 2006 until early 2010, told lawmakers last week that he never intended to authorize the transfer of funds from customer accounts. If any subordinates moved clients’ money in the belief that Corzine had authorized it, “it was a misunderstanding,” he said.

Along with Corzine, Steenkamp and Abelow have been sued in class-action complaints on behalf of MF Global shareholders. The lawsuits accuse the executives of making false and misleading statements about MF Global’s financial strength and cash balances.

MF Global didn’t list the European debt on its balance sheet for all to see. Instead, those holdings were shifted to the company’s “off-balance sheet,” deep in its financial statements. Some separate filings with regulators excluded the European debt entirely.

A lawyer for the trustee overseeing the liquidation of MF Global’s brokerage operations said in court Friday that the trustee’s staff has discovered some “suspicious” trades in MF Global customer accounts that were made in the last days before the firm failed. The lawyer didn’t provide details.

Corzine said last week that customers’ losses weigh heavily on him.

“I think about this every day,” he said. “I could not be more regretful, more distressed that we are ruining people’s lives.”

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Europe’s fiscal pact may save the euro from collapse and stave off worldwide financial panic. But the concerns of many investors are more personal: Will it lift my flagging 401(k)?

The answer from the stock market on Friday was hopeful. As a summit of European leaders concluded with an agreement to deal with their debt crisis, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.7 percent, capping a second straight week of gains.

Then again, stocks have rallied after other summits _ more than a dozen in two years _ only to fall again. And the reaction to the deal from even the optimists isn’t particularly reassuring.

Hank Smith, chief investment officer of Haverford Investments, says stocks could rise “sharply and quickly” _ but only if there’s more “good news” from Europe. And that assumes you agree that Friday’s deal was good at all.

In that deal, all 17 countries that use the euro agreed to allow a central European authority to oversee their future budgets. They also agreed to automatic penalties if they spend too much.

But the deal won’t help cut debt today, which in Italy, Greece and Spain has driven government borrowing costs close to levels considered unsustainable. All eyes are now on the European Central Bank, and whether it’s willing to buy enough national bonds from those countries to keep interest rates down.

The frustration for investors is that Europe has drowned out a string of good news in the U.S. that should have moved stock prices higher. U.S. companies are making more money than ever, signs are growing the economy is recovering and stocks are cheap compared with earnings.

So far this year, investors have endured stomach-churning moves up and down in stocks. But in the end, not much has changed.

The S&P 500 has barely budged in the past 12 months. The Dow Jones industrial average, which includes some deeply troubled financial stocks not in the S&P, has performed better _ up 5 percent.

Jim Russell, equity strategist at US Bank Wealth Management, is befuddled.

“Stocks are bad _ sell them,” he says, mocking the prevailing attitude in the markets. “It doesn’t matter if you blow out earnings.”

Russell is hoping that Europe’s latest deal means U.S. investors will forget about the region for a while, focus on the fact that big U.S. companies have increased profits by double-digit percentages for 10 consecutive quarters _ and maybe even start buying again.

But the only thing he’s convinced is sure to come is more wild stock moves.

Since August, S&P 500 stocks have gyrated by 1.7 percent a day, more than twice its average over two decades. The Dow index of blue chips stocks has seen similar volatility.

The culprit: Europe.

Early last month, the Dow plunged by 389 points on news that squabbling Greek politicians might not be able to push through needed reforms. A few days later, the Italian Senate passed a new austerity budget and the Dow rose 260 points. Then it dropped 326 points over two days on fears that U.S. banks had bet too heavily on Europe continuing to pay its bills and on news of a sudden spike in Italian borrowing costs. Then, another reversal. Several central banks announced they would make it easier for European lenders to borrow themselves, and the Dow jumped 490 points fast cash advance.

In addition to tighter controls on spending, Europe’s new “fiscal compact” calls for the launch of a permanent eurozone bailout fund in 2012, a year ahead of schedule. The deal also will send 200 billion euros ($267.41 billion) to the International Monetary Fund, which controls another emergency fund for countries in crisis.

Jeffrey Sica of Sica Wealth Management thinks the pact is inadequate, and stocks could fall 15 percent once investors wake up to that fact. He doesn’t think the European Central Bank will buy enough bonds to keep borrowing costs down. And that means banks in the region holding government debt will suffer big losses, with some collapsing. U.S. banks will also get hit with losses, and the economy will struggle for years.

“We had all this anticipation leading up to the meeting,” he says. “But nothing much happened.”

Sica, who manages $1 billion for clients, sold all of his stocks in August, and put proceeds in U.S. Treasury bills and into so-called “short” bets that stocks will fall.

His view is a nightmare, but even if you don’t buy it, there is plenty to worry about.

U.S. companies have generated record profits in part by cutting costs. But there’s a limit to how much they can squeeze suppliers and pile work on remaining workers. The other path to riches has been to sell more abroad, but there are signs that may prove difficult soon, too.

This past week, Europe’s biggest economy, Germany, reported its exports plunged in October. That followed bad news from a widely-followed survey suggesting that eurozone economy had likely contracted last month, which would make it the third monthly drop in a row. Many experts now think Europe is already in recession or will soon enter one.

This matters because S&P 500 companies get 14 percent of their revenue from Europe. Not surprisingly, some CEOs have been sounding more dour lately.

Many have slashed their guidance on earnings for next year. On Friday, chemical giant DuPont and semiconductor maker Lattice Semiconductor Corp. cut their financial outlooks for the current quarter. That followed a warning from Texas Instruments Inc. a day earlier that its revenue might fall short of expectations.

“We’ve seen the market highs for the year,” says Peter Boockvar, equity strategist Miller Tabak & Co. “Europe will be in recession and corporate earnings here could be challenging.”

Russell, the US Bank strategist, agrees that Europe is in trouble but he’s still cheery about U.S. stocks. He thinks earnings at S&P companies might grow only 7 percent in 2012, half the rate this year. But he’s still urging investors to buy.

Even at that lower rate, stocks are trading at roughly 12 times their projected earnings versus a long-term average of nearly 17 times, he says.

Translation: They’re cheap.

“We think investors will like what they see,” says Russell, assuming they “refocus on fundamentals.”

Given Europe’s troubles, it’s a big assumption.

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WASHINGTON

Exxon expects to see more and more hybrids on the world’s roads, with gas-sipping models like the Toyota Prius making up half of all vehicles by 2040.

The largest publicly traded oil and gas company says in its annual energy outlook that the use of hybrids _ vehicles that rely on both gas and electricity for power _ and other efficiency gains will keep energy demand in check for the U.S. and other major industrialized countries for years.

Exxon Mobil Corp. predicts that energy demand will remain flat through 2040 in developed nations instant payday loan.

However, Exxon says that China and other developing nations will increase their thirst for oil and other petroleum based fuels. Energy demand within developing nations is expected to rise nearly 60 percent from 2010 to 2040.

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Declaring the American middle class in jeopardy, President Barack Obama on Tuesday outlined a populist economic vision that will drive his re-election bid, insisting the United States must reclaim its standing as a country in which everyone can prosper if provided “a fair shot and a fair share.”

While never making an overt plea for a second term, Obama’s offered his most comprehensive lines of attack against the candidates seeking to take his job, only a month before Republican voters begin choosing a presidential nominee. He also sought to inject some of the long-overshadowed hope that energized his 2008 campaign, saying: “I believe America is on its way up.”

In small-town Osawatomie, in a high school gym where patriotic bunting lined the bleachers, Obama presented himself as the one fighting for shared sacrifice and success against those who would gut government and let people fend for themselves. He did so knowing the nation is riven over the question of whether economic opportunity for all is evaporating.

“Throughout the country, it’s sparked protests and political movements, from the tea party to the people who’ve been occupying the streets of New York and other cities,” Obama said.

“This is the defining issue of our time,” he said in echoing President Theodore Roosevelt’s famous speech here in 1910.

“This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class and all those who are fighting to get into the middle class,” Obama said. “At stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home and secure their retirement.”

For Obama, saddled with a weak national economic recovery, the speech was a chance to break away from Washington’s incremental battles and his own small-scale executive actions. He offered a sweeping indictment of economic inequality and unleashed his own brand of prairie populism.

He spoke for nearly an hour to a supportive audience, reselling his ideas under the framework of “building a nation where we’re all better off.”

Billed as an important address that would put today’s economic debates in context, Obama’s speech seemed a bit like two packaged into one.

The first was that of the campaigner, full of loft and reclamation of American values. The second was the governing Obama, who recited his familiar jobs agenda, his feud with Congress over extending a Social Security tax cut, even his fight to get his consumer watchdog confirmed.

Obama tied himself to Roosevelt, the president and reformer who came to this town in eastern Kansas and called for a “square deal” for regular Americans. Roosevelt said then the fight for progress was a conflict “between the men who possess more than they have earned and the men who have earned more than they possess.”

It is a theme Obama is embracing in a mounting fight for re-election against Republicans who, regardless of the nominee, will attack his stewardship of the economy.

One of the leading contenders for the GOP nomination, Mitt Romney, ridiculed Obama for comparing himself to Roosevelt.

Obama “said that he is like Teddy Roosevelt,” Romney said at a campaign event in Paradise Valley, Ariz. “And I thought, `In what way is he like Teddy Roosevelt?’ Teddy Roosevelt of course founded the Bull Moose Party. One of those words applies.”

Kirsten Kukowski, spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said, “Maybe instead of trying to be like other presidents, Obama should try being president.”

Obama took aim at the Republicans, saying they would only return the same structures that led to America’s economic downturn. “Their philosophy is simple: We are better off when everyone is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules,” Obama said. “I’m here to say they are wrong.”

The president conceded that the country is in the midst of a consuming re-examination on his watch, prompting national movements against both government spending and an economy that many feel disproportionately favors the elite. Obama went on the offensive about income equality, saying it distorts democracy and derails the American dream.

Responding to those who want to cut taxes and regulation in the belief success will trickle down, Obama said: “Here’s the problem: It doesn’t work. It’s never worked.”

Obama noted that Theodore Roosevelt was called a “radical, a socialist, even a communist” for putting forth ideas in his last campaign such as an eight-hour work day, a minimum wage for women, unemployment insurance and a progressive income tax.

Left unsaid: Roosevelt’s Bull Moose campaign in 1912 failed to return him to the White House.

Obama attempted to sum up the pain and peril for a society where the middle class is struggling. But he also called for individual responsibility.

“In the end,” he said, “rebuilding this economy based on fair play, a fair shot and a fair share will require all of us to see the stake we have in each other’s success.”

Obama also challenged he big banks that took bailouts from American taxpayers, pointing to “a deficit of trust between Main Street and Wall Street.” He said banks that were bailed out had an obligation to work to close that trust deficit and should be doing more to help remedy past mortgage abuses and assist middle-class taxpayers.

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China Shougang Group has tied up with Malaysia’s Hiap Teck to build a 1.8 billion ringgit ($573 million) steel mill, its first such investment outside of China.

A joint statement says the mill in Malaysia’s northern Terengganu state will produce 700,000 metric tons of steel slabs a year to cater to Southeast Asia’s growing markets when completed in mid-2013. It said Monday the mill, run by a joint venture called Eastern Steel, will later be expanded to raise output to 1.5 million metric tons.

Shougang, one of China’s top steel makers, controls 40 percent of Eastern Steel. Hiap Teck holds 55 percent.

Officials say there is strong demand in Southeast Asia, which imports more than 4 million metric tons of steel slabs annually, mostly from eastern Europe.

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Federal monitors said this week they have found more evidence that Monsanto’s genetically engineered corn is failing to kill the insects it is designed to repel.

The US Environmental Protection Agency posted a report this week saying that corn rootworm — a major agricultural pest — is damaging Monsanto’s corn. 

This summer researchers said they found evidence of problems in cornfields in Iowa and Illinois. The agency said this week, they also have found evidence of corn rootworm damage in Minnesota and Nebraska, and called Monsanto’s monitoring of the problem “inadequate.”

Researchers, in lab settings, have found evidence that the pests are growing resistant to a protein that is genetically engineered into the plants and designed to kill the pests after they consume it.

Monsanto issued a statement saying it takes the report “seriously and remains committed to working with farmers to encourage the adoption of integrated pest management practices when managing high rootworm populations on farm.”

Monsanto did not provide a company representative for an interview, but has said in a previous interview that the problem seems to be confined only to fields with high insect pressure.  The company also says there is no “scientific confirmation” that the pest is developing resistance to the protein.

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HEAD NORTH: More than just northside visitors, merchants, residents and this colyumnist are impressed with development of the Old North St. Louis community.

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and Sean Thomas, head of the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, are in D.C. today to receive the 2011 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement, which was given to the community by an office of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Old North was given the Award for Overall Excellence in Smart Growth, which is the highest honor that is given out by the EPA’s Office of Sustainable Communities. The award “recognizes an outstanding comprehensive approach to growth,” the EPA said. The selection committee also noted that the award “is for the best overall approach to implementing smart growth on a variety of fronts …”

Among factors that contributed to the community’s selection was the 28 percent population gain the area has seen in the past decade. Winning projects must have an impact on the community, and not merely be a design for development, the Old North restoration group said in a post on its website.

The restoration group is the not-for-profit that laid the foundation for the development, which used strategies that promote walking, rehabilitate vacant buildings and establish green spaces, the EPA said.

A specific effort cited by the EPA was the revitalization of two main blocks of the neighborhood — 14th Street north from Warren Street to St. Louis Avenue (nearly to the door of the Karandzieffs’ venerable Crown Candy Kitchen) — into something called Crown Square. The $35 million project involved the redevelopment of 27 buildings along 14th Street and surrounding side streets. It resulted in 80 new households in an area that had been largely abandoned, and the opening of a growing number of new locally owned businesses.

There are also new sidewalks, benches, trees and lights and newly cultivated community gardens sprinkled through the neighborhood. The area includes a North City Farmers’ Market and a community-owned Old North Grocery Co-op.

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U.S. battery maker Johnson Controls is at odds with Shanghai’s environmental regulator over tests the company says show it was not responsible for severe lead poisoning cases in children discovered earlier this year.

The Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based company said Wednesday that an investigation by the China Electric Equipment Industry Association found its battery factory in Shanghai’s eastern suburbs was not the cause of elevated blood-lead levels among children in a nearby community. Instead, it pinned blame on a recycling facility in the area.

Shanghai Environment Bureau official Ju Chunfang, who participated in testing the Johnson Control plant, questioned the investigation, saying it was not independent. Ju said the bureau began another investigation of its own last week.

Johnson Controls denied Ju’s contention that the company had agreed it was the largest source of lead emissions in the area.

Local officials insisted the plant, which is much larger than other battery factories in the area, had to be the cause of the poisoning cases. In an interview, Ju cited several instances of occasionally high emissions readings and prevailing wind patterns as the reason for that allegation.

Xia Qing, the scientist who led the probe cited by Johnson Controls, said it was commissioned by the Electric Equipment Industry Association and was not paid for by the battery maker.

The tests showed abnormally high lead levels at a waste recycling facility near the community whose children were poisoned, with lead levels three times the current national standard and 10 times a pending stricter national standard. Zinc levels were 15 times national standards.

“I have three conclusions. First, trust the Chinese environmental protection laws. Second, the lead poisonings were not caused by Johnson Controls. And third, pay more attention to the recycling stations and companies,” said Xia, an engineer with the China Research Academy of Environmental Science.

Soaring use of cars and electric scooters is driving strong demand for lead acid batteries, and their production and recycling are a key source of lead contamination.

China shut down hundreds of battery factories last spring after a slew of lead poisoning cases. Many have remained shut.

The lead contamination drew attention after families living in Kanghua New Village, a small block of apartment buildings erected to house farm families moved to make way for an industrial zone, said checks showed many of their children had abnormally high blood lead levels no fax payday loan.

The Johnson Controls factory suspended production in September after it reached its annual quota for lead use. The plant has sought permission to expand production, but local environmental officials say such requests will not be approved due to concerns over lead emissions.

Johnson Controls says it intends to resume production in January at the factory, which has an annual capacity of 2.5 million batteries.

“We’ve called our employees back. We’re pretty excited,” said Alex Molinaroli, president of Johnson Controls Power Solutions.

“The results corroborate our own data and prove that emissions from our battery plant could not be the cause of elevated blood-lead levels found in the community,” he said.

Johnson Controls, a major supplier to the automotive industry, had insisted all along that its plant’s emission controls would have prevented any significant contamination.

Production at a second, smaller battery plant in the area had also been stopped.

Kanghua is located just north of the zone and close to chemical, battery and electronics equipment factories.

Johnson Controls earlier said its factory has lead emissions at about one-seventh the Chinese national standard. Employees are regularly tested to ensure their blood lead levels remain low enough.

Some experts say that over time they expect use of lead-acid batteries to be phased out in favor of less toxic and more efficient charging methods, such as lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells.

But such changes could take decades.

Despite its difficulties over the Shanghai plant, the company is expanding in China, with annual capacity due to rise to 10.5 million batteries next year with the addition of a new plant in Changqing. A third plant, under construction, will have a capacity of 6 million batteries, and the company is considering locations for a fourth plant.

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Researcher Fu Ting contributed to this report.

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