It's earnings vs Europe for stocks (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? U.S. stock investors will return to a tug of war between signs of domestic strength and overseas concerns this week as a batch of critical earnings reports look to add credence to the idea the economy is improving, while credit rating downgrades in Europe will keep that region's difficulties in view.

Bank stocks will probably once again be a primary focus, as not only will European issues call the group's profit outlook into question, but many key names report results.

Equities have recently undergone a decoupling with respect to Europe's sovereign debt crisis as signs of progress in the euro zone, along with improving U.S. data, have pushed Wall Street higher on improved growth prospects. Financials have been a beneficiary of that rising tide, with Bank of America up about 20 percent since the start of the year.

So far this month, the S&P 500 (.SPX) is up 2.5 percent, while the Dow (.DJI) is up 1.7 percent and the Nasdaq (.IXIC) is up 4.1 percent.

"We're going to see more volatility in the weeks ahead with tension between earnings and Europe," said Christopher Sheldon, the Boston-based director of investment strategy at BNY Mellon Wealth Management, which oversees $171 billion globally.

"We want to see Europe resolved, but there will continue to be ups and downs, and while earnings will continue to be relatively good, we do expect slowing compared with 2011."

However, the uncertainty about Europe returned in a big way on Friday after Standard & Poor's downgraded the ratings of nine of the 17 euro-zone countries, including France, Italy and Spain after the market closed. Talk of the downgrades spurred a selloff that erased most of the gains for the week, when the S&P rose for four straight sessions.

The downgrades could exacerbate the euro zone's difficulties and bring concerns about how they might affect U.S. banks' profits back to the forefront.

Still, market participants looking for signs of strength don't have to look far. Data has been bullish lately, including Friday's consumer sentiment reading at an eight-month high that sharply exceeded what was anticipated.

"The prospect of a downgrade has been around for a while, so despite today's reaction, everyone was aware of the potential, and I don't think it will be as impactful, especially as corporate business trends remain strong," said Hank Herrmann, chief executive of Waddell & Reed Financial Inc in Overland Park, Kansas.

HINTS OF BETTER TIMES AHEAD

Earnings reports from numerous bellwethers could reinforce the growth story. Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), General Electric Co (GE.N), Intel Corp (INTC.O), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) are among the names set to report.

Early reads have supported the idea that better times lie ahead. JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) said the domestic economy was strengthening even as its profit fell 23 percent, while Alcoa Inc (AA.N) rallied earlier in the week after giving a bullish outlook for the aluminum sector.

"Banks will be an important part of the story, especially with Europe in the picture, and investors will also be looking at names like GE, which have global exposure, to see what insights can be gleaned from that," said Herrman, who helps oversee $90 billion in assets.

The U.S. stock market will be closed on Monday in observance of the U.S. holiday honoring the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the slain civil rights leader.

When trading resumes on Tuesday, Wall Street will watch a number of economic indicators to gauge the strength of the recovery. Data scheduled for release in the abbreviated week includes the New York Fed's Empire State Index on January manufacturing, the December readings on the U.S. Producer Price Index and the Consumer Price Index, as well as December housing starts and December existing home sales.

For the past week, the Dow rose 0.5 percent while the S&P 500 gained 0.9 percent and the Nasdaq added 1.4 percent.

(Wall St Week Ahead runs every Sunday. Questions or comments on this column can be emailed to: ryan.vlastelica(at)thomsonreuters.com)

(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Jan Paschal; Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra: visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134 For more information on Top News: http://topnews.reuters.com; For London stock market outlook please click on <.L/O>; Pan-European stock market outlook <.EU/O>; Tokyo stock market outlook <.T/O>)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120115/bs_nm/us_usa_stocks_weekahead

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RBS to cut 3,500 jobs in investment banking (AP)

LONDON ? Taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland announced Thursday it would cut 3,500 jobs, part of a reorganization of its investment banking arm as it reins in its ambitions to be a global financial player.

The cuts, which are to be phased in over three years, will largely affect employees in Global Banking and Markets, which had offered advice on mergers and acquisitions. The division has 18,900 employees overall.

"Our goal from these changes is to be more focused for customers, more conservatively funded, more efficient and with better, more stable returns for shareholders overall," Chief Executive Stephen Hester said in a statement.

The bank has been under pressure to pull back from its expansion goals. The strategy also dovetails with British government efforts to force banks to separate their retail operations from their more volatile investment banking.

Under former chief Fred Goodwin, RBS led a takeover of Dutch bank ABN Amro in 2007, only to run into huge problems in 2008, when the global financial crisis caused a severe credit crunch. The group collapsed in 2008 and taxpayers had to bail it out. It is now 83 percent owned by the taxpayer.

Write-offs on the ABN deal helped swell the bank's losses in 2008 to 24.3 billion pounds, a U.K. record.

The monumental losses put Goodwin ? nicknamed "Fred the Shred" for his vigorous cost-cutting at RBS ? under intense scrutiny. He left RBS with a pension of 703,000 pounds ($1.1 million) per year after leading the expansion spree, though he later negotiated an agreement to take a lump sum payment of 2.8 million and scaled back his pension payments.

The latest cuts are in addition to the 2,000 losses announced by the bank last summer. The fresh losses mean 11,000 posts have been cut at the division from the pre-banking crisis headcount of 24,000. RBS said it will now exit from the mergers and acquisitions.

"This strategy has succeeded in making RBS stronger and placing us on the road to long-term success," Hester said.

The job losses come amid reports that John Hourican, who will continue to oversee the restructuring of the business, is in line to pick up 4 million pounds ($6.1 million) in long-term incentive shares awarded in 2009.

Union representatives sharply criticized the cuts.

"It is a disgrace that while on a daily basis stories are emerging about the massive bonuses at the top of the bank, increasing numbers of jobs are being cut from amongst the hard-working staff," said David Fleming, a Unite national officer.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120112/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_britain_rbs

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Video: Forced sterilization in North Carolina

>> news tonight about a scandal we first reported on rock center. it was about doctors and government officials in north carolina conspiring for over 40 years to sterilize thousands of women, men, even children. their way of weeding out people they considered at the time to be undesirable. north carolina ended the practice, but not until the late '70s, and just today, a task force there recommended that victims should be paid $50,000 each as compensation.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/45949407/

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Gabrielle Giffords: amid somber tributes, questions about reelection grow

Gabrielle Giffords will be on hand Sunday in Tucson, Ariz., to honor the victims of last year's mass shooting. But the day is also a reminder that Gabrielle Giffords will soon have to decide if she is able, and willing, to run for reelection.?

For the first time since being seriously wounded a year ago, US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) will appear at a large-scale public event in her Arizona hometown Sunday to commemorate the anniversary of the Jan. 8, 2011, mass shootings.

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Her visit is about paying tribute to the 18 other shooting victims ? six of whom died ? and helping to rebuild a Tucson community shaken to its core. She and her husband, Mark Kelly, will?attend a candlelight vigil at the University of Arizona Sunday evening to honor the victims. Mr. Kelly is expected to speak.

Though the event has no political overtones,?the growing question on the minds of many here is whether Congresswoman Giffords is ready, and willing, to return to Washington.

Giffords, who was shot in the head at a meet-and-greet outside a Safeway supermarket in northwest Tucson, has been undergoing therapy in Houston.?In November, her television appearance with ABC?s Diane Sawyer showed that Giffords had made great strides in her recovery but still struggled to speak and walk.

Until then, her constituents had been privy to virtually no information on her progress and speculation about her future has intensified with time.?A three-term member of Congress, Giffords faces a May deadline to decide whether to run for reelection.?

The memorial event "does have implications for whether or not she?s going to run again,? said Bruce Merrill, a political analyst and professor emeritus at Arizona State University. ?This is part of the process, as much as she?s beloved and respected there, people still need to be represented and they?re going to be looking in terms of how she appears in this setting.?

With the deadline to file candidacy papers approaching, potential candidates are starting to get nervous, says Bruce Ash, a Republican National Committee member from Arizona. ?This is about the time that, if it were an open seat, people would start coming forward.?

But he says, on Jan. 8 at least, his focus will not be on politics.??I?m sure there will be lots of speculation on whether she?s running or not,? says Mr. Ash. ?But the only thing that?s important is Gabrielle Giffords returning to full health.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/vXGqFYcrf3c/Gabrielle-Giffords-amid-somber-tributes-questions-about-reelection-grow

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PFT: Giants' Bradshaw doesn't practice

Getty Images

During the 2011 regular season, a former Jets quarterback repeatedly criticized the current edition of the team.? Now, another former Jets quarterback has joined Joe Namath with a harsh assessment of the franchise.

?I think that Rex Ryan?s ways have come back to haunt him,? Esiason told WEEI in Boston, via ESPNNewYork.com.? ?And Mike Tannenbaum . . . has a lot of responsibility in this regard, because they have put a lot of bad guys together in this locker room.? There?s a good core of players for the New York Jets.? But unfortunately, all it takes is one guy.? And Rex Ryan giving Santonio Holmes the captain?s ?C? on the chest was an absolute embarrassment.? It?s a slap in the face of all the good guys in that locker room.?

Esiason also took aim at quarterback Mark Sanchez, a player whom Namath recently has supported.

?If you watched Mark Sanchez the last month of the season, he was like a chihuahua standing on Madison Avenue and 36th Street entering the Midtown Tunnel, eyes bigger than you-know-what, and just so shaky,? Esiason said.

In the event the P.C. police had an issue with Esiason?s reference to a breed of dog that bears a Mexican name, given that Sanchez is Mexican-American, Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com has cleared things up by contacting Esiason for a clarification.

Seriously.

?I chose a small dog that always looks shaken and has big eyes, and doesn?t like big things ? a chihuahua,? Esiason said.? ?It?s a skittish dog and he?s been a skittish player.?

Esiason also agrees that, despite what the Jets say publicly, they?re privately considering their options for upgrading the position.? And they?ll be interested in Peyton Manning, if he?s available.

?If Peyton is able to play and the new General Manager [in Indianapolis] and whoever they hire to run that team out there decides to go without Peyton Manning, then I?m sure that the Jets will be sniffing around,? Esiason said.? ?Because that?s what the Jets do.? They?re trying to find their Tom Brady.? They?re trying to find their Aaron Rodgers.? And I don?t think, in their mind, they think that they feel like they?ve found the kid.?

Esiason is right.? And the sooner the Jets acknowledge publicly what they?re realizing privately, the closer they?ll be toward become the team they so badly want to be.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/04/ahmad-bradshaw-doesnt-practice-for-giants-jake-ballard-does/related/

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Keep Pets Safe As You Ring in the New Year ? SPCA, Inc.

While New Year?s Eve may be a blast for party-goers and families celebrating together, the festive evening can cause stress and anxiety in your pets. From noise makers to the persistent booming of fireworks, loud noises, flashing lights, and the stench of sulfur can cause excessive fear in pets, resulting in nervous behaviors such as trembling, whimpering, and panting.

A distressed animal?s natural response to flee from what he or she interprets as a threatening situation may result in serious injury. Canines have been known to become so frightened by fireworks that they actually run through glass windows or escape from the yard.

To ensure your pet rings in 2012 safely, before your evening festivities begin, give your pets what they need most: security. The SPCA?s McClurg Animal Medical Center Director Boyd Harrell, DVM strongly discourages owners from closing the pet in a room or cage he or she doesn?t normally spend time in. ?This only adds to the anxiety and insecurity. Provide your animal with a familiar place that offers some degree of ?hiding?,? said Dr. Harrell. In anxious situations, pets want to blend into the surroundings and disappear.

Dr. Harrell indicated most pets prefer to have their owners at their side or at least nearby; however, if you?re going out to celebrate New Year?s Eve, leave on familiar background noises such as radio, TV or music to reduce the loudness of fireworks.

Wishing you and your family, including the four-legged members, a safe and happy 2012!

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Source: http://blog.lovemyspca.com/2011/12/31/keep-pets-safe-as-you-ring-in-the-new-year/

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Montefiore, Nurses Union Avert Strike

Montefiore (credit: Mark Rodriguez/CBS 2)

NEW YORK ? A strike by unionized nurses at a major New York City hospital has been averted following a successful contract negotiations between management and labor officials.

The New York State Nurses Association and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx stated Friday they had reached a deal for a new, four-year contract. Montefiore called it a ?fair settlement.? Union officials stated the contract ?made important advances? on their issues, including staffing levels and health care.

The nurses stated earlier this week that they would strike Jan. 10 if they failed to resolve issues over staffing.

The association represents about 2,300 nurses at the hospital.

The union also reached agreements with St. Luke?s Roosevelt Hospital Center, The Mount Sinai Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian in Manhattan in recent days.

Sound off in our comments section below?

(Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

More source:

Montefiore, Nurses Union Avert Strike - CBS New York
Nurses threaten strike at Montefiore - but will ink contracts with Mt ...
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Two NYC nurses strikes averted | Crain's New York Business

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