EU May Take Legal Action Against Hungary

The EU makes a push to flay Hungary into shape. The EU wants a new constitution and some fear this may push the country back into Authoritarianism.

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Fitch says time is running out

Individual investors are regularly polled for their opinion on if they believe the market will crash near term. Currently we are at levels not seen since 2009.

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Consumer Electronics Show: Complete coverage

The Consumer Electronics Show is in full swing now, with keynotes Wednesday focusing on some higher-level trends in the consumer technology world.

In the morning, Xerox, Verizon Communications and Ford will discuss innovation and its role in their companies’ success. In the afternoon, high-level marketing and communications officers from AT&T, General Electric, Hyundai, Facebook, Wal-Mart and Unilever will discuss marketing and branding on a global scale.

Hans Vestberg, president and chief executive of Ericsson, will also give a keynote address in the afternoon. The Swedish company is in a transition year. Ericsson ended its consumer electronics partnership with Sony but faces a greater demand for its mobile and wireless management services than ever before. The keynote speech should have some insights into the future of the mobile industry, even if it likely won’t have any flashy consumer product announcements.

This is also a day for policy at CES, with panels addressing a range of technology policy issues. Wednesday’s congressional panel features Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Lee Terry (R-Neb.), Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and John Shimkus (R-Ill.), and probably will address the thorny issue of online piracy and copyright. Federal Communications Chairman Julius Genachowski is also speaking with the Consumer Electronics Association president, Gary Shapiro, while commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Robert McDowell will discuss spectrum and other policy issues on a panel moderated by The Washington Post’s Cecilia Kang.

Related stories:

Privacy rights activists worry about potential abuse of high-tech devices featured at CES event

CES 2012: What is an ultrabook, anyway?

PHOTOS: Cool gadgets unveiled at CES

Full preview

Gapping up

ALU +4.9%, BORN +19.4%, LUX +2.6%,  INSW +13.9%, EK +13.3%, MFRM +6.3%,  YOKU +7.1%,  MFRM +6.3%,

AKS +2% , MAS +1.7%, ROK +0.6%, CROX +5.6%, SNX +4.4%, SVM +1%, EK +13.3%, BORN +20.6%,  EFII +7.4%,

Gapping down

STO -2.4%, TOT -2.2%, BP -2%, DLA -22.4%, URBN -15.2%, CWTR -5.8%, TWO -3.7%, RGLD -3.6%, BPAX -7.3%,

E -1.2%, RIG -1.1%, HAL -1%, UN -3%, IHG -2.4%, BP -2%, HRC -2%, VMED -2%, STD -1.2%, E -1%, MSFT -1.1% ,

RGLD -3.6%, PHG -2.5%, WBMD -1.9%, LAZ -1.9%,  EMR -1.4%,  HBAN -1.2%,  SI -1%, KO -0.8%,

Source

AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) Raised to Outperform with $12 target at Credit Suisse.
Alcatel-Lucent, S.A. (NYSE: ALU) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) Raised to Buy at Ladenburg Thalmann.
Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Astoria Financial Corporation (NYSE: AF) Cut to UNderweight at JPMorgan.
Aurizon Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AZK) named as Value Stock of the Day at Zacks.
Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV (NYSE: PHG) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LTD) Cut to Neutral at Citigroup.
Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR) Started as Hold at Argus.
Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Unilever PLC (NYSE: UL) Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Cut to Sell at Citigroup.
VimpelCom Ltd. (NYSE: VIP) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
WebMD Health Corporation (NASDAQ: WBMD) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
WESCO International (NYSE: WCC) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.

In Play

On the Wires 

Good data point for housing’s stabilization…

A never ending list of dirty deeds for the banking community….

Investors took advantage of low interest rates….

The maker of Drakes Cakes and Wonder bread has filed for chapter 11 over pension and healthcare benefits…

This is the third attempt to kill off Iran’s nuclear scientist.

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Let’s extended it to the whole world

Barclays says all the money loaned has ended up in deposit and will likely not create credit regeneration…

The German GDP news started things off in Europe and then Fitch added to investor  concerns…

The Euro broke 1.27, but has since bounced a little 

UniCredit bounced 7% after hitting lows not seen since 1988

Europe sold off and oil fell on news that German GDP contracted in the fourth quarter. Renewed fears of recession surfaced as investors took some profits.

Full article

Asia

Europe

Futures

Currencies

Commodities 

LIBOR, EURIBOR, 10 year yields for Italy, Spain, France, and Germany

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