Evidence of the economic downturn is easy to find. It’s a little harder to turn up proof that business activity is actually increasing. We’re told the national economy is improving — that job losses are slowing and that some sectors are picking up. Read more: Strictly Business feature: Three Thoughts on signs the economy is recovering (The Bakersfield Californian)

TUSTIN , Calif. , Feb. 4, 2010 — The Association for Corporate Growth Orange County (ACG OC) will stage its annual ACG Cup event, a masters-level deal analysis competition designed to give top business school students real-world experience while networking with the county’s top merger and acquisition (M&A) professionals. Read more: Orange Countys Next Generation of Business Leaders...

LOS ANGELES — City National Bank has won nine Excellence Awards for small business and middle market banking from Greenwich Associates, a leading global financial services research and consulting firm. Read more here: City National Wins Nine Greenwich Excellence Awards for Small Business and Middle Market Banking (dBusinessNews.com)

Liberty International , one of the UK’s largest listed property companies, is to split its 2.8 billion pound business in one of the biggest corporate restructurings in the UK real estate sector, the Financial Times reported in its Friday edition. Go here to read the rest: Property company Liberty to split its business-report (Reuters via Yahoo! UK & Ireland News)

Food distributor Nash-Finch Co. on Thursday promoted an insider, Christopher A. Brown, to become president of its wholesale business. Continued here: Nash Finch names president of wholesale business (AP via Yahoo! Finance)

Banks borrowed less from the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending program over the past week, another sign that strains on private credit markets are easing. Read more from the original source: Fed emergency loans to banks continue to decline (AP via Yahoo! News)