Sales climbed 0.3 percent in January, the third gain in four months, according to the median forecast of 51 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before Commerce Department figures Feb. 11. Another report may show the trade gap fell in December. A drop in unemployment last month, combined

The MSCI World Index of 23 developed markets sank 2.4 percent, the most since Oct. 1, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 2.3 percent at 12:45 p.m. in New York and benchmark equity indexes for Portugal and Spain plummeted the most in 15 months. Oil lost 5 percent, the biggest drop in