Also

* Wednesday, several Asian markets, including those in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, will be closed in observance of the Chinese New Year.

* Thursday, meeting of the World Economic Forum of business and political leaders, begins in Davos, Switzerland.

* Thursday, STMicroelectronics of the Netherlands may overtake Motorola Inc. as a top chip maker. Europe’s No. 1 chip maker is expected to report that sales jumped 55% last year as it benefited from a boom in demand for cellular phones and digital cameras that use its chips. That would mean ST’s growth exceeded the global chip market gain of 31%, while Motorola’s semiconductor unit grew 21%.