What to watch, courtesy of Yahoo! Finance's Elizabeth Trotta:
Good morning,
Futures are pointing to a higher open with expectations that Greece will commit to the terms of an EU/IMF bailout deal within the day. Data earlier in the day showed the economic output of the euro zone nations slumped 0.3% in the fourth quarter vs. the third, as expected, marking the first contraction since the first half of 2009.
In the U.S., the Mortgage Bankers Association said its index of mortgage and refinancing application activity dipped 1% last week as home demand slid. The NAHB Housing Market Index as well as data on New York manufacturing, industrial production and crude oil inventories are expected later this morning. More housing, inflation and manufacturing data will follow later in the week.
In corporate news, Kellogg is buying Pringles from Procter & Gamble for $2.7B in cash. Comcast topped expectations early Wednesday with help from video and internet subscriber gains. Zynga will also be a stock to watch after topping expectations late Tuesday. And in the latest on Apple, research firm Gartner said the iPhone maker is likely to see its share of the smartphone market slipping for a couple of quarters after becoming the world's largest smartphone vendor in the last quarter of 2011.
Yahoo also continues to make headlines as hedge fund Third Point said it intends to pursue four of Yahoo's 11 board seats after reports earlier Tuesday that talks to sell back its stake of its Asian partner Alibaba have stalled.
Elsewhere, Congress was reportedly making progress late Tuesday as the deadline approaches for decisions on the payroll tax cut, unemployment insurance and a scheduled pay cut to Medicare physicians. CNNMoney details the roadblocks that remain.
Economic Data to watch for:
7 MBA Mortgage Index
8:30 Empire State Manufacturing
9:00 Net Long-Term TIC Flows
9:15 Industrial Production
9:15 Capacity Utilization
10 NAHB Housing Market INdex
10:30 Crude Oil Inventories
2:15 FOMC Minutes
Later this week..
Thursday: Initial Jobless Claims, Housing Starts, Building Permits, Producers Price Index, Philadelphia Fed Index, Mortgage Rates
Friday: Consumer Price Index, Leading Indicator
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