STOCKS STAY POSITIVE DESPITE DOWNGRADE THREAT: Here's What You Need To Know, December 7, 2011

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		Tech Entertainment Wall Street Markets Strategy Sports Lifestyle Politics Europe Video Latest Wednesday, December 7, 2011 STOCKS STAY POSITIVE DESPITE DOWNGRADE THREAT: Here's What You Need To Know Sam Ro | Dec. 7, 2011, 4:00 PM | 765 | 8 Advertisement The third day of Europe's hell week was relatively quiet.  Markets looked like they would close in the red.  Then a late S&P warning turned things around. What? First, the scoreboard: Dow: +46.2 pts, +0.4% S&P 500: +2.4 pts, +0.2% NASDAQ: -0.4 pts, -0.0% And now, the top stories: Europe was relatively quiet today.  This morning, German and Portuguese bond auctions went without a hitch.  A note authored by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and obtained by FT blogger Joshua Chafin suggests that EU leaders may be able to adopt their "new fiscal compact" more swiftly than would have been expected.  People are also still talking about the FT report that EU leaders were considering doubling the firepower of the eurozone bailout fund.   NOMURA: These 10 Political Risks Will Drive The Market In 2012 > S&P announced that it put the whole European Union on credit watch negative.  This action follows and is tied to S&P's earlier negative action against 15 of the 17 individual eurozone countries.  UBS: These Are The 19 Countries Most At Risk Of Default > The next big event for Europe is tomorrow's European Central Bank (ECB) meeting.  Economists expect the ECB to cut rates by 25 basis points.  Many are hoping for the ECB to signal larger measures to contain the eurozone debt crisis, but most are skeptical that they will. A new survey out of Fannie Mae suggested consumer sentiment toward the housing market was improving.  On average, survey respondents expected home prices to rise by 0.2% over the next year, the first positive reading in six months.  This would be in line with the assessment of Barclays' analyst Stephen Kim who argues that there could be a recovery in the housing market next year. Last night, Citigroup announced it would lay off 4,500 employees.  The bank is expected to take a $400 million charge in Q4 related to the cuts. Research In Motion shares fell 2.3% today.  The BlackBerry maker lost a legal battle, which is forcing the company to rename its new operating system from "BBX" to "BlackBerry 10." First Solar shares climbed 4.1% today on a deal with MidAmerican Energy, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.  MidAmerican is buying the solar panel makers $2 billion Topaz Solar Farm power plant. Don't Miss: Meet Estimize, The New Startup That Plans To Blow Up The World Of Wall Street Analyst Predictions > Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. Share this: Facebook Twitter Digg Reddit StumbleUpon LinkedIn The email address for your subscription is: dwyld.kwu.jobhuntportal11@blogger.com Change Your Email Address | Unsubscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe to the Money Game RSS Feed Business Insider. 257 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010 Terms of Service | Privacy Policy

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