“I have learned through the years that after a good run of profits in the markets, it`s very important to take a few days off as a reward. The natural tendency is to keep pushing until the streak ends. But experience has taught me that a rest in the middle of the streak can often extend it.”– Martin Schwartz

1. Greek Debt Talks Break Down — MarketWatch, talks among eurozone finance ministers over a new financing arrangement for Greece broke down abruptly. The breakdown came after Greece rejected an extension of its current 240-billion-euro ($272 billion) bailout program under the conditions being offered by other ministers.
2. Oil Tanker Derails, Explodes in West Virginia — a CSX (NYSE:CSX)train carrying more than 100 tankers of crude oil has derailed and burst into a huge fireball in West Virginia, igniting at least 14 tankers. One tanker car and perhaps more fell into the Kanawha River, prompting concerns about potential contamination of water treatment facilities that serve local communities.
3. BOE Keep Interest Rates Unchange — Bank of England officials voted unanimously to leave the central bank’s benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.5% this month and the stock of assets purchased under its bond-buying program unchanged at £375B.
4. Germany Rejects Greece’s Loan-Extension Proposal — MarketWatch, Germany has rejected Greece’s request for a six-month loan-extension agreement, saying the letter is not a “a substantial proposal” for a solution.” The Greek PM had ask the eurozone ministers to extend by 6-months its 240-bil-euro bailout, without austerity terms.
5. Moody’s Downgrades Russia Sovereign Debt to Junk — CNBC, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Russia’s sovereign debt to junk status last Friday, citing the crisis in Ukraine and the falling price of oil. Moody’s cut Russia’s rating to Ba1 from Baa3, with a negative outlook.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:

“I’m more concerned about controlling the downside. Learn to take the losses. The most important thing about making money is not to let your losses get out of hand.” – Marty Schwartz

1. Chinese Economy Weakens — according to the latest data, China’s exports slipping 3.3% from year-ago levels while imports plunged by 19.9%. The slide in imports is the sharpest since May 2009, while exports have not produced a negative annual reading since March 2014. Many are expecting China to lower its GDP target to around 7% this year, after posting 7.4% in 2014, its lowest annual growth rate in 24 year.
2. FBI Probes Fake TurboTax Filings — WSJ reported the FBI is examining how fraudulent tax returns were filed in 19 states through Intuit’s (NASDAQ:INTU) tax-preparation software TurboTax and whether a computer data breach allowed access to personal information. Intuit halted e-filings of state returns last week after spotting criminal attempts to get refunds through its systems, but resumed filing after steps were taken to combat the activity.
3. Halliburton to Cut Workforce by 6.5%-8% Due to Challenging Market — Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) has announced that it will cut 5,000-6,5000 jobs, due to slumping oil prices and the resulting decline in oil and gas exploration and production. CEO Lesar previously warned that 2015 would be a “tough year” for the company.
4. ECB Raises Limit on Emergency Funding for Greek Banks — MarketWatch, the European Central Bank boosted the amount of emergency assistance that can be provided to Greek banks by 5 billion euros ($5.7 billion), according to German news reports. That lifts the total amount of funding Greek banks can access through a program known as emergency liquidity assistance, or ELA, to 65 billion euros. The ECB earlier this month said it would no longer accept junk-rated Greek government debt as collateral from Greek banks in return for cheap ECB funding loans, but said the banks could continue to tap funding via ELA, which is administered by the Greek central bank.
5. House Passes Keystone Pipeline Bill, Set for Showdown with Obama — the House has again voted for a bill approving construction of TransCanada’s (NYSE:TRP) Keystone XL pipeline, setting up a political showdown with President Obama, who has vowed to veto the bill.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:

“I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” – Wayne Gretzky

1. Australia Cuts Rates to Record Low — the Reserve Bank of Australia has jumped on the easing bandwagon, becoming the latest global central bank to cut interest rates in response to slowing inflation and concerns over economic growth. The RBA lowered its benchmark rate by 25 bps – its first change since August 2013 – to a new record low of 2.25%.
2. ECB Says No to Greek Debt — the ECB put more pressure on the country by revoking a waiver that allowed banks to use Greek government debt as collateral for loans. Greek lenders will have to seek funding from their own central bank on less generous terms.
3. China Cuts Bank Reserves — the central bank cut the amount banks must hold in reserves, the first step in more than 2 years, as concerns mount over an economic slowdown. China’s economy slowed to 7.4% in 2014, its lowest annual growth rate in a quarter century.
4. RadioShack filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy — RadioShack has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware, saying it has $1.2B in assets and $1.39B in debts. The plan reportedly includes an asset-buy deal with Standard General (its largest shareholder) and Sprint (NYSE:S) for a “store-in-store” model that would allow the RadioShack (NYSE:RSH) name to exist in some of the acquired shops.
5. S&P Cut Its Rating on Greece’s sovereign Debt — S&P has cut its sovereign debt to B- from B with a negative outlook, citing a “narrowed” time frame to reach a deal with its official creditors before running out of cash. Moody’s also put Greece on review for another downgrade.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:

“A peak performance trader is totally committed to being the best and doing whatever it takes to be the best. He feels totally responsible for whatever happens and thus can learn from mistakes. These people typically have a working business plan for trading because they treat trading as a business” – Van K Tharp

1. Greece Anti-Austerity Syriza Party Win — Party leader Alexis Tsipras has already moved to form a coalition that will work to reverse years of austerity measures imposed on Greece by the Troika. The euro dropped to a fresh 11-year low after initial results came out, falling as far as $1.1098 vs. the dollar, although it is now up 0.4% at $1.1244 amid speculation that the victory won’t push the nation to exit the currency bloc.
2. S&P Cuts Russia’s Rating to Junk — Bloomberg, Russia’s foreign-currency credit rating was cut to junk by Standard & Poor’s, putting it below investment grade for the first time in a decade. The penalties have locked Russian corporate borrowers out of international debt markets and curbed investor appetite for the ruble, stocks and bonds.
3. Denmark Cuts Deposit Rate for Third Time in Two Weeks — MarketWatch, the Danish National Bank late last week cut its deposit rate by 15 basis points to negative 0.5% in an effort to prevent the krone from strengthening too much against the euro. It’s the third time in less than two weeks the central bank has slashed its deposit rate, following persistent upward pressure on the krone’s peg to the euro resulted from European Central Bank launched a quantitative-easing program and the Swiss National Bank ditched its euro cap.
4. US GDP Downshifts to 2.6% Rate in the Fourth Quarter — MarketWatch, the value of all goods and services produced by the U.S. — grew at a 2.6% annual clip in the fourth quarter. For all of 2014, the U.S. economy grew at a 2.4% rate, slightly faster than the 2.2% gain in the prior year. Consumer spending was a major positive in the fourth quarter, expanding 4.3%, the fastest pace since before the financial crisis. However, growth was pulled down by weaker business spending, a drop in federal government spending and net exports.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: