Bloggy Business Today

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK |
Tue Feb 7, 2012 10:05am EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks edged lower at the open on Tuesday as investors awaited the outcome of discussions on a bailout package for Greece from international lenders that would help the country avoid a chaotic default.

Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos negotiated through most of the night with lenders from the European Union and International Monetary Fund over more fiscal reforms as trade unions staged a national strike against more cuts.

A Greek government official said the nation is preparing the text of an agreement on a 130-billion euro bailout that must be put to political leaders for approval, suggesting Athens had largely wrapped up talks with lenders.

“Markets would love to see some certainty, and we don’t have any of that at the moment,” said Frank Lesh, a futures analyst and broker at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago.

“On the equities side, we’ve come a long way, and we are getting into overbought territory, so most of us are expecting a bit of a pullback or a period of consolidation – the depth of the pullback really depends on Greece and the European debt problems.”

A disorderly Greece debt default could lead to increased fiscal problems for weaker members of the euro zone and dampen the U.S. recovery.

European shares fell on the Greece talks and after disappointing results from investment bank UBS AG (UBSN.VX)(UBS.N) and shipbuilder Alfa Laval AB (ALFA.ST). The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was down 0.7 percent. .EU

The benchmark SP index had risen for five straight weeks on the back of improving U.S. economic data, punctuated by the Friday payrolls report, to lift the index up almost 7 percent for the year. A light economic calendar this week has shifted investor focus back to the euro zone.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 38.30 points, or 0.30 percent, to 12,806.83. The Standard Poor’s 500 Index .SPX.INX dropped 4.83 points, or 0.36 percent, to 1,339.50. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC dropped 9.72 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,892.27.

Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) edged up 0.2 percent to $68.15 after the soft-drink maker reported better-than-expected quarterly results and announced a new cost-savings program.

As earnings season winds down, investors awaited results from companies including Lincoln National Corp (LNC.N) and Walt Disney Co (DIS.N).

Emerson Electric Co (EMR.N) dipped 3.4 percent to $51.54 after it reported lower quarterly sales and earnings as last year’s floods in Thailand disrupted supply chains and weak

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The success or failure of a sales presentation is dependent on the degree of skill being applied at the listening end of a conversation with a prospect or customer.  The buyer’s reaction to the sales person’s personality, products and organization will be attained if effective listening skills are applied. Read the rest of this entry »

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• Effective Ways to Listen

By Lefteris Papadimas and Daniel Flynn

ATHENS/PARIS |
Mon Feb 6, 2012 10:11am EST

ATHENS/PARIS (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Greece on Monday to make up its mind fast on accepting the painful terms for a new EU/IMF bailout, but the country’s political leaders responded by delaying their decision for yet another day.

Failure to strike a deal to secure the 130 billion euro ($170 billion) rescue – much of which Germany will fund – risks pushing Athens into a chaotic debt default which could threaten its future in the euro zone.

Speaking in Paris, Merkel expressed the exasperation spreading among euro zone leaders at seemingly endless wrangling in Athens that has yet to produce a definitive acceptance of the austerity and reform conditions demanded by the lenders.

“I honestly can’t understand how additional days will help. Time is of the essence. A lot is at stake for the entire euro zone,” she told a news conference with President Nicolas Sarkozy.

But leaders of the three parties in the coalition government appeared to need at least one additional day.

The office of Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, a former central banker who heads a government of politicians, said that a meeting of leaders from the conservative, socialist and far-right parties due on Monday had been postponed to Tuesday.

A statement issued shortly after Merkel spoke gave no reason for the delay. However, it said Papademos would hold further talks with the “troika” of lenders – the European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF – later on Monday.

The party leaders, positioning themselves for a likely general election in April, have baulked at accepting another package of deeply unpopular wage and pension reductions, job cuts and tougher tax enforcement measures.

PATIENCE WEARING THIN

Merkel made clear that her patience was wearing thin on a deal that affects not only Greece but the wider currency bloc, which fears that a default would hit much larger economies such as Spain and Italy.

In a fresh sign of mistrust, the German leader said she and Sarkozy agreed Greece should deposit revenue to meet future interest payments in a special escrow account to guarantee that creditors were paid consistently.

“We want Greece to stay in the euro,” she said. But she added: “I want to make clear once again that there can be no deal if the troika proposals are not implemented. They are on the table … Something needs to happen quickly.”

“A lot is at stake for the entire euro zone,” added Merkel, whose country

Article source: here

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK |
Mon Feb 6, 2012 10:23am EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock fell on Monday after a five-week rally on concerns Greece may be unable to avoid a chaotic default as it struggles to reach terms on a new bailout package.

Athens allowed another deadline to slip as political leaders failed to respond to terms for a new bailout from the European Union and Internation Monetary Fund. Greece needs the funds by March to meet big debt repayments.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel stepped up pressure on Greece, warning that time was running short for a deal to be struck.

“It’s inevitable the risk profile that Greece represents is definitely going to cool the market tone, there is absolutely no way around that,” said Peter Kenny, managing director at Knight Capital in Jersey City, New Jersey.

“That lack of clarity, the protracted nature of this crisis and the fact that it simply will not go away, it’s a bit unnerving to people who have seen the market tack on some very nice early year gains, and it forces people to want to be a little cautious.”

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 39.01 points, or 0.30 percent, at 12,823.22. The Standard Poor’s 500 Index .SPX was down 3.86 points, or 0.29 percent, at 1,341.04. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was down 7.66 points, or 0.26 percent, at 2,898.00.

The SP has rallied for five straight weeks on better-than-expected U.S. economic data, punctuated by Friday’s solid employment report, pushing the index up nearly 7 percent for the year.

Hasbro Inc (HAS.O) fell 0.3 percent to $35.76 after the maker of Nerf foam toys and Monopoly board games reported a fourth-quarter profit just above analysts’ lowered expectations.

Humana Inc (HUM.N) posted a big rise in fourth-quarter profit, but revenues came in below Wall Street expectations. Its shares fell 4.6 percent to $86.03. The Morgan Stanley healthcare payor index .HMO lost 0.7 percent.

Through Monday morning, of the 290 companies in the SP 500 reporting results, 60 percent posted earnings that topped Wall Street expectations, tracking below recent quarters at this point of the reporting season.

Other companies expected to post earnings include Yum Brands Inc (YUM.N), Pioneer Natural Resources Co (PXD.N), Dun and Bradstreet Corp (DNB.N) and Anadarko Petroleum Corp (APC.N).

Fidelity National Financial Inc (FNF.N) agreed to buy O’Charley’s Inc (CHUX.O) for $9.85 a share in a deal that values the casual dining chain at $221 million in cash. O’Charley’s shares surged 42.2 percent to $9.84.

Semiconductor

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“One word is enough to a wise man.”  This saying oftentimes is an expression commonly uttered by superiors to induce subordinates when they want certain tasks done at once. However there are superiors who could not initiate pressure even when they wanted things accomplished.  At a certain circumstances however, it is advantageous to put pressure to employees.  Read the rest of this entry »