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business newsMidday Market Report: Equities Slip on Greek Uncertainty
By
Vincent Trivett
Feb 08, 2012 2:15 pm
Markets are down on the broken-record headlines coming out of Greece.
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Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that a Greek minister said the government would finalize fiscal reform negotiations and finally secure the bailout money it needs to avoid bankruptcy once its debt comes due in March.
Today? Nobody is so sure.
As of 1:30 p.m. New York time, Greek lawmakers are still mulling over the details of an austerity package that was supposed to be finished days ago. Greeks are protesting the proposed 3.2 billion euros in spending cuts and layoffs in Greece's huge public bureaucracy.
Eurozone finance ministers will meet tomorrow in Brussels to review the reforms that the Greeks (hopefully) come up with. The 70% "haircut" deal that foreign holders of Greek debt are discussing is contingent on the bailout going through. The creditors, who will meet in Paris tomorrow, are ready to make the debt swap as soon as the Greek bailout is approved by the Troika. It's all up to the three ruling parties now. Perhaps today is the day.
Today, Blackrock's (BLK) Larry Fink urged investors to put 100% of their money in equities. Of course, he has a point given the rock-bottom interest rates on bonds, but today doesn't look like the day for it.
Fiscal third-quarter revenues at high-fashion clothing company Ralph Lauren (RL) advanced by 16.8%, delivering $1.78 per share. The stock is up 9% today.
Time Warner's (TWX) profit is for the fourth quarter ticked up just 0.5% from the year earlier, helped by strong revenues from the Harry Potter franchise. Time Warner's stock is up 0.6% today.
Sprint Nextel (S) lost more this quarter than it did in the third quarter. The communications company lost $0.43 per share as it struggles to complete network upgrades and make up for the higher costs of selling Apple's (AAPL) iPhone. The loss was less than what Wall Street expected, but Sprint shares dropped about 1%.
Caesars Entertainment (CZR) soared 8% in its IPO today. The stock pop is largely due to a tiny 1% float. The company, which now has $22 billion in debt, only raised $16.3 million in today's offering, a fraction of 2010's aborted $531 million IPO. Hedge fund billionaire John Paulson of Paulson & Company has the right to sell 12.4 million shares.
Twitter: @vincent_trivett
Today? Nobody is so sure.
As of 1:30 p.m. New York time, Greek lawmakers are still mulling over the details of an austerity package that was supposed to be finished days ago. Greeks are protesting the proposed 3.2 billion euros in spending cuts and layoffs in Greece's huge public bureaucracy.
Eurozone finance ministers will meet tomorrow in Brussels to review the reforms that the Greeks (hopefully) come up with. The 70% "haircut" deal that foreign holders of Greek debt are discussing is contingent on the bailout going through. The creditors, who will meet in Paris tomorrow, are ready to make the debt swap as soon as the Greek bailout is approved by the Troika. It's all up to the three ruling parties now. Perhaps today is the day.
Today, Blackrock's (BLK) Larry Fink urged investors to put 100% of their money in equities. Of course, he has a point given the rock-bottom interest rates on bonds, but today doesn't look like the day for it.
- The Dow (^DJI) drifted down by 0.13% to 12862.
- The NASDAQ (^IXIC) is virtually unchanged, down 0.08% to 2,901.63.
Fiscal third-quarter revenues at high-fashion clothing company Ralph Lauren (RL) advanced by 16.8%, delivering $1.78 per share. The stock is up 9% today.
Time Warner's (TWX) profit is for the fourth quarter ticked up just 0.5% from the year earlier, helped by strong revenues from the Harry Potter franchise. Time Warner's stock is up 0.6% today.
Sprint Nextel (S) lost more this quarter than it did in the third quarter. The communications company lost $0.43 per share as it struggles to complete network upgrades and make up for the higher costs of selling Apple's (AAPL) iPhone. The loss was less than what Wall Street expected, but Sprint shares dropped about 1%.
Caesars Entertainment (CZR) soared 8% in its IPO today. The stock pop is largely due to a tiny 1% float. The company, which now has $22 billion in debt, only raised $16.3 million in today's offering, a fraction of 2010's aborted $531 million IPO. Hedge fund billionaire John Paulson of Paulson & Company has the right to sell 12.4 million shares.
Twitter: @vincent_trivett
No positions in stocks mentioned.
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