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Welcome, 77 artists, 40 different points of Attica welcomes you by singing Erotokritos an epic romance written at 1713 by Vitsentzos Kornaros

Saturday, February 21, 2015

STOCKS HIT RECORD HIGHS: Here's what you need to know (DIA, SPY, SPX, QQQ, TLT, IWM, USO, OIL, BHI, WMT)

Stocks rallied to record highs on Friday as the big question marking hanging over markets in the last few weeks — Greece's bailout agreement with its European creditors — was resolved on Friday.  First, the scoreboard: Dow: 18,140.4, +154.7, (+0.9%) S&P 500: 2,110.3, +12.8, (+0.6%) Nasdaq: 4,956, +31.3, (+0.6%) And now, the top stories on Friday: 1. We have an agreement in Europe. On Friday, Greece and its European creditors announced a deal to extend Greece's bailout program by four months. Under the terms of the agreement, Greece must present a list of proposed reform measures on Monday, which the Eurogroup will review, a process that the Eurogroup hopes to conclude by April. At a press conference on Friday, Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem called this agreement a "positive" outcome. You can find the full text of the agreement here.  2. The announcement out of Europe on Friday follows what was a long week in Europe, with a report from a French paper saying that Dijsselbloem and Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis had a "heated confrontation" on Monday during a meeting of European finance ministers.  3. The latest rig count data from oil driller Baker Hughes was released on Friday, showing that the number of oil rigs in use fell by 37 last week to 1,019, the lowest since July 2011. Combined oil and gas rigs fell by 48. Since hitting a peak of 1,609 in October, the number of oil rigs in use is down by 37%, and in its earnings announcement last month Baker Hughes said that during the last three oil downturns the rig count has declined by 40%-60%.  4. Wall Street was still digesting the biggest corporate news of the week, Wal-Mart announcing that it would raise wages for 500,000 hourly employees, and in a note to clients on Friday, analysts at Credit Suisse said that Wal-Mart announcement is a clear move for the retailer to re-establish itself as a leader within the industry. The firm also said that Wal-Mart's move is likely to pressure some of its other retail peers.  5. In an email on Friday, NYSE Rich Barry nailed it on how closely the market was watching the Greece saga, and how we'd know if there was a deal or not. Barry wrote that a trader passed him a note writing, "'This is insane! They should run these negotiations like when they vote for the Pope - no one's allowed to leave the room until the smoke is billowing!' … You don't even have to read the headlines, just watch what the market does and you'll know if a deal is done or not." And record highs followed a deal.  Don't Miss: Bank of America: RISK ON! »Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Nationwide's Super Bowl commercial about dead children is about corporate profits ... in a way that we can all appreciate


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT uk.businessinsider.com

Dow, S&P 500 hit records after Greece earns bailout extension

New York (AFP) - The Dow and S&P 500 Friday bolted to fresh records after eurozone ministers agreed to extend Greece's bailout by four months.At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 18.138.06, up 152.29 points (0.85 percent), notching its first record of 2015. The broad-based S&P 500 rose 12.67 (0.60 percent) to 2,110.12, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 31.27 (0.63 percent) to 4,955.97.Join the conversation about this story »


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.businessinsider.com

The Eurogroup statement, annotated: a partial view

The Bloomberg's Lorcan Roche Kelly, an acute, some would also say partial, observer of Greece's tussle with their Eurogroup colleagues, has provided his own paragraph-by-paragraph annotation of the carefully worded Eurogroup statement. Warning: It's something that would make Wolfgang Schaeuble ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.enikos.gr

Eurogroup releases statement on agreement with Greece

Statement released by Eurogroup following meeting on Greece.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Greek aid extension agreed pending list of measures from Athens

Euro-area finance ministers reached a provisional deal intended to keep aid flowing to Greece in return for a commitment to continued economic reforms, buying time to work out the detail of longer-term Greek financing.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Carnival city hotels fully booked for long weekend

Hotels at various popular destinations around Greece are reporting occupancy rates close to 100 percent for this Carnival weekend, particularly in areas with popular street parades such as Patra and Rethymno.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Friday, February 20, 2015

Eurozone chiefs strike deal to extend Greek bailout for four months

Frantic diplomacy in Brussels secures four-month lifeline for Greece which pledges not to roll back austerityEurozone finance ministers have reached a deal to resolve the Greek bailout impasse after a frantic round of diplomacy in Brussels produced an agreement. Related: Eurozone ministers gather to decide Greece's fate - live updates Continue reading...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com