Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos meets with officials from the nation’s main political parties to hammer out reforms needed to secure more bailout money.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Officials in Greece were under pressure Monday to agree on the terms of a new bailout package, as the threat of a default hangs over the country.

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said the leaders of Greece’s three main political parties have agreed on the “main elements” needed to secure emergency loans from the European Union and International Monetary Fund, according to a statement.

Greece needs to finalize the terms of a proposed €130 billion bailout soon, in order to avoid an all-but-certain default on a €14.5 billion bond redemption in March. The concern is that a so-called disorderly default could lead to a financial crisis in Europe that would shock the global economy.

The talks in Athens have reportedly been held up by disagreements over additional job and salary cuts, as well as pension reforms and tougher tax enforcement. But officials have made progress on a plan to reduce public spending by 1.5% of gross domestic output this year, according to Papademos.

What’s next for Europe?

Greece, which owes some €330 billion, has come close to default before.

The nation has struggled to follow through on austerity measures and economic reforms that were a condition of its 2010 bailout package. But the nation’s economy has been in recession for years and many analysts warn that additional austerity could make the situation worse.

EU leaders have been sounding increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress in Greece.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Monday that failure was not an option for Greece, adding that “considerable measures” have been put in motion to help the nation “out of the situation it finds itself in today.”

“But the Greek leaders have made commitments and they must respect these scrupulously,” he said. “There is no choice, there is no choice.”

EU finance ministers are widely expected to hold an “extraordinary” meeting sometime this week, although no official date has been set.

Meanwhile, Greece appears close to a deal with its creditors in the private sector to write down a portion of the nation’s debt.

SP president: Why I’m still hopeful

The agreement, which would result in significant losses for bondholders, is intended to help reduce Greece’s debts to 120% of GDP by 2020, from about 160% currently.

The worsening Greek economy has raised calls for the nation’s creditors in the “official sector” to provide some relief.

The European Central Bank, which holds an estimated €30 billion to €45 billion of Greek debt, is under pressure to forego profits on those bonds, as are individual euro area central banks.

In the bond market, yields on short-term debt issued by Greece and Portugal, another troubled economy, rose near record highs. But yields on similar Italian and Spanish bonds were little changed. 

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/money_markets/~3/YeATTs2lU1w/index.htm

The Nasdaq is trading at its highest level since December 2000 … but tech stocks are still way below their March 2000 dot-com bubble peaks.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The Nasdaq is at its highest level since the end of 2000. Highly speculative companies like Netflix (NFLX) and Zynga (ZNGA) are soaring, and investors are salivating about possibly paying 100 times earnings for Facebook when it goes public.

If you want to declare that tech stocks are once again a bubble … you’d be dead wrong.

Sure, some techs like Netflix, Amazon.com (AMZN, Fortune 500) and Salesforce.com (CRM) (to name a few) trade at extremely high price-to-earnings ratios for this year and next. But they are the exception, not the rule.

As tempting as it may be to declare that techs are frothy — as they were just before the dot-com bubble burst in March 2000 — it’s simply not true.

Take a look at the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the largest non-financial stocks in the Nasdaq Composite. While it’s not a pure tech index since it also includes companies like Starbucks (SBUX, Fortune 500), Amgen (AMGN, Fortune 500) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN), it is very tech heavy.

The largest companies in the index by market value are Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500), Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500), Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) and Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500). Intel, Cisco Systems and Qualcomm are in the top ten.

Of those seven companies, the most expensive is Qualcomm (QCOM, Fortune 500). And it’s trading at only 16 times 2012 earnings forecasts, in line with its growth rate.

Apple, Microsoft, Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) and Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500) all trade at 11 times calendar 2012 earnings forecasts. Oracle has a P/E of 12 while Google trades for just 14 times profit forecasts.

Stocks party like it’s 1997. Can it last?

The Nasdaq 100, overall, is trading at just 18 times earnings estimates for 2012. That’s more expensive than the broader market, but it’s not that crazy considering that earnings, on average, for the Nasdaq 100 companies are expected to increase 14 percent this year.

Of course, none of the big techs are growing as rapidly as they were a few years ago, save for Apple. So it’s understandable why some investors may be more interested in companies with greater growth potential. Like Facebook for example.

But the big techs look extremely attractive and relatively safe. That’s a rare combination.

“Valuations for larger tech companies are reasonable. And many of the big companies are generating a lot of cash flow,” said Sunil Reddy, portfolio manager with Apex Capital Management in Dayton, Ohio.

“Growth rates have come down compared to 10 years ago, but the balance sheets are much stronger,” Reddy added.

With $97.6 billion, Apple has more cash than …

Investors do need to be cautious. The Nasdaq is up more than 11% already so far this year. Tech stocks have risen so far, so fast in 2012 that it would be tough to imagine them heading higher without some sort of correction.

“We might be getting a little overbought. There is a lot of enthusiasm about tech stocks in a short period of time, so there could be a pullback,” said Andrew Fitzpatrick, director of investments with Hinsdale Associates in Hinsdale, Ill.

However, Fitzpatrick thinks that any pullback could be brief. Keep in mind that even though the Nasdaq is at its highest level since December 2000, the index is still 44% below the all-time highs it hit earlier that year.

“The outlook for tech stocks is still positive. The Nasdaq has been undervalued for a while,” Fitzpatrick said.

So no matter how pricey Facebook is when it starts trading in a few months, don’t mistake a possible bubble in social media and other parts of the tech food chain as being a bubble covering all of tech.

“Many of the big tech companies are in good product cycles, have recurring revenue streams and they are cheap,” said Ted Parrish, co-manager of the Henssler Equity Fund (HEQFX) in Kennesaw, Ga. His fund owns big stakes in Apple, IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) and Qualcomm.

“Facebook is an outlier. You can’t look at Facebook and say other techs are too expensive,” Parrish added.

Best of StockTwits: Investors were all worked up about a report on the Good E-Reader blog that said Amazon is planning to launch a retail store in Seattle to sell its Kindle tablets. If true, that would be very Apple-esque. But some don’t think it’s a good idea.

Pridon: $AAPL $AMZN I don’t believe the rumor re Amazon retail. It would expose AMZN to sales tax in each state. Margins on Kindles too low.

It does seem curious. Then again, many doubted Apple would be able to be successful with its own brick-and-mortar stores. But it’s important to note that this report hasn’t been substantiated yet. And there have been rumors like this before. Nonetheless …

shoedeep: @Pridon good point. Retail store just for advertising is just too expensive! Need a high margin product, $AMZN doesnt have it! $AAPL

ldrogen: $AMZN will gut itself trying to bloody up $AAPL, u have to know when not to get involved in a fight

Indeed. Not sure Amazon has enough in its hardware arsenal that it could sell in its own stores. Unless the target isn’t Apple as much as …

oktobernv: $AMZN opening retail stores to focus on E-readers and books?? That’s gonna be REAL bad news for $BKS

Hard to imagine there being more bad news for Nook owner Barnes and Noble (BKS, Fortune 500). And the struggles of BKS and the now-defunct Borders make me think Amazon may want to think twice before deciding to open up its own chain of stores.

By the way … how about them Super Bowl champion New York Giants!

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Paul R. La Monica. Other than Time Warner, the parent of CNNMoney, and Abbott Laboratories, La Monica does not own positions in any individual stocks. 

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/money_markets/~3/J-mCl7UWm1k/index.htm

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks slipped, as investors anxiously await a Greek government decision on budget cuts that are key to securing a second bailout and avoiding default.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 43 points, or 0.3%. The SP 500 (SPX) shed 4 points, or 0.3%. The Nasdaq (COMP) dropped 12 points, or 0.3%.

After failing to strike a deal over the weekend, political leaders in Greece are set to resume talks Monday.

They’re trying to reach a deal on austerity measures and financial reforms necessary for a €145 billion bailout package from the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank.

Without the bailout money, the risk is that Greece will miss a €14.5 billion bond redemption in March. That could lead to a disorderly default, a development that would likely have severe consequences for the global financial system.

Greece on the brink

“Greece is the single largest determinant with what’s going on with regard to sentiment,” said Dan Greenhaus, equity market strategist at BTIG. “But there’s a level of exhaustion. There’s a sense that we want to get it over with.”

For most of 2012, investors have largely ignored problems in Europe, pushing up all three indexes.

The Dow ended last week at its highest level since May 2008, while the Nasdaq — up more than 11% for the year — finished at its highest level since December 2000. U.S. stocks rallied Friday, following a much larger-than-expected increase in hiring and a surprise drop in the unemployment rate.

Companies: Shares of Alpha Natural Resources (ANR) moved up more than 2%. The company announced late Friday that it will reduce coal production by four million tons due to weakening demand.

Over the weekend, Micron Technologies (MU, Fortune 500) appointed Mark Durcan to lead the company after CEO and chairman Steve Appleton died Friday in a small-plane crash in Boise, Idaho. Durcan, who will also be the director of Micron’s board, previously served as chief operating officer and chief technical officer. Shares of the company fell nearly 2%.

What’s next for Europe?

Meanwhile, investors will continue to keep an eye on quarterly corporate results.

Hasbro’s (HAS) fourth-quarter earnings beat forecasts by a penny a share. Although sales fell short, shares of the toy and boardgame maker climbed more than 2%.

Humana’s (HUM, Fortune 500) fourth-quarter profit rose from a year earlier, and the health insurer provided an upbeat guidance, but shares dropped nearly 5%.

Coinstar (CSTR), the parent of video rental company Redbox, announced that it formed a joint venture with Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) to compete against rival Netflix (NFLX). Coinstar will report fourth-quarter earnings after Monday’s closing bell. Coinstar’s shares edged up more than 1%, while Verizon and Netflix’s shares straddled the break-even line.

Yum! Brands (YUM, Fortune 500), owner of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, is also on tap to post results later in the day.

World markets: European stocks closed lower. Britain’s FTSE 100 (UKX) slid 0.3%, the DAX (DAX) in Germany shed 0.1% and France’s CAC 40 (CAC40) dropped 0.5%.

Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) rose slightly and Japan’s Nikkei (N225) added 1.1%, while the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong dipped 0.2%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.

Oil for March delivery slipped 81 cents to $97.07 a barrel.

Gold futures for April delivery fell $15.90 to $1,722.00 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose, pushing the yield down to 1.94% from 1.95% late Friday.  

Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/money_markets/~3/JhWMsZsOUr4/index.htm