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US equity markets look set to open lower as uncertainty in the Eurozone has once again returned, this time following the Cypriot bailout. Political uncertainty in Italy is also weighing on the minds of market participants.

Equity markets in Europe traded sharply lower this morning as market participants reacted to what is arguably a very controversial bailout of Cyprus, as it involves a levy on depositors. The iTraxx fin. index is seen up 14bps as market participants remain wary of a potential liquidity crunch, with banks in Europe underperforming its peers on the sector break down. In particular it was the Italian banks that came under a sustained selling pressure, partly due to the fact that the political gridlock in Italy remains very much unresolved. Marks and Spencer shares opened sharply higher this morning after reports over the weekend Qatar Holding were considering a bid for the company. However despite a source close to the sovereign wealth fund denying the reports, shares still trade higher by 8.5%.

FTSE (-0.58%), CAC (-1.18%), DAX (-1.00%), SMI (-0.84%), IBEX (-2.05%), EURO STOXX (-1.52%), FTSE MIB (-2.02%) prices taken at 1236GMT

Best Performing Sectors in the STOXX Europe 600: Consumer Services (-0.20%), Utilities (-0.48%), Consumer Goods (-0.49%)

Worst Performing Sectors in the STOXX Europe 600: Financials (-2.19%), Basic Materials (-1.07%), Technology (-0.71%)

DJI

Corporate Earnings

N/A

Other News

JPMorgan - In the wake of new Senate hearings about Co.'s multibillion-dollar trading loss, two of the bank's board members are concerned about statements from the bank's CEO, Jamie Dimon. (New York Times)

Boeing/General Electric – Boeing’s development study on improvements to the 777X, will include General Electric as the engine partner on the twin-aisle airplane expected to enter service near the end of the decade. (Newswires)

Boeing - To get the 787 Dreamliner flying again, Co. is testing the plane's troubled battery system with a rigorous set of standards it helped develop but never used on plane. (Newswires) In related news, EADS’s Airbus has won an order from Lion Air in Indonesia for 234 planes worth USD 24bln. (Newswires)

Verizon – Co. wants to restructure the fee arrangement it has for TV channels by paying for "how many people actually watch them," according to reports. (WSJ)

AT&T - Thuraya Telecommunications announced a strategic partnership with the company which will provide outbound GSM roaming for voice and data services to Thuraya users across the United States. (Newswires)

S&P 500

Corporate Earnings

N/A

Other News

Constellation Brands – Co., Anheuser-Busch InBev, Grupo Modelo, and Crown Imports have made substantial progress in their discussions with the DoJ toward resolution of the DoJ's litigation, relating to AB InBev's proposed acquisition of the remaining stake in Grupo Modelo it does not already own. (Newswires)

PVH Corp. – Co. is to terminate 900-1,000 employees worldwide in connection with its plans to achieve savings and synergies following the acquisition of the Warnaco Group. (Newswires)

M&T Bank – Co. is to maintain USD 2.80 annual dividend after Fed does not object to plan. (Newswires)

Dow Chemical – Co. announced that it intends to build several new, specialty material production units aligned to its high value Performance Plastics franchise on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The Co. announced an initial agreement for a long-term ethylene off-take agreement with a new joint venture to be formed between Idemitsu Kosan Co. and Mitsui & Co. Idemitsu and Mitsui will form the joint venture to construct and operate a world-scale, Linear Alpha Olefins unit on the U.S. Gulf Coast. (Newswires)

Fidelity National Information Services – Co. has announced that Woody Woodall has been named new CFO. (Newswires)

J.C. Penney - Two as yet unidentified institutional investors with Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund plan to contact CEO Ron Johnson to get more information about the firm's major bet on the company, whose stock has fallen 21% percent this year. (Newswires)

Solar Stocks - China's solar incentive may receive a significant cut under new energy subsidy policies. According to media reports, the subsidy for standalone solar PV systems for self-use may turn out only to be CNY0.35/kWh under new policies compared to the expected CNY 0.4-0.6/kWh. (DigiTImes)

Gaming Stocks – New Jersey is set to let casinos in Atlantic City offer betting on fantasy sports with a new regulation set to come into effect on April 22nd. (Seeking Alpha)

Cabot Oil & Gas/Avis Budget/Valero – Barron’s says the three companies could be the next Apple and prove to be the next big momentum stocks. (Newswires)

Nasdaq 100

Corporate Earnings

N/A

Other News

Apple – Co. has been sued by THX in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. According to the complaint, various models of the iPhone, iPad and iMac products infringe on a single speaker patent. (Apple Insider) In other news, TheStreet.com reports: "Apple rumors: Special Dividend?". In further news, surveyed analysts expect the company to boost their dividend by more than half to over USD 4.00 per share. (Newswires)

Facebook – Co. has promoted Mike Schroepfer to CTO, according to sources. (TechCrunch)

Oracle – Oppenheimer says shares likely to advance following Q3 results, due to be reported on Wednesday. Oppenheimer expects the Co. to report in-line Q3 results, but the firm anticipates that the stock will advance following the results, as the company is entering a seasonally strong period. (Newswires)

Qualcomm – Co.’s deal with Sharp misses deadline which means second capital injection will be delayed. (Newswires)

Dish/News Corp. - A report from explained that Dish Network is defending its Hopper DVR against Fox's claim by saying the Hopper uses the same technology as Slingbox. (Variety)

News Corp. - Last year the DoJ opened an investigation into allegations that Wall Street Journal employees in the China news division bribed officials for news information. (WSJ)

Biogen/Elan – Both companies announced results from several studies of TYSABRI that demonstrate its efficacy compared to other multiple sclerosis treatments and suggest better outcomes when progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy is detected early. (Newswires)

Dell – Co. has rejected Shareholder Forum's supplemental demand for information saying Shareholder Forum is seeking all the information made available to Icahn for "improper purposes." (Newswires) In first buyout talks Silver lake was said to have bid as low as USD 11.22 per share in mid-2012. (Newswires)

Starbucks – Co. unit, Seattle's Best, has fast-tracked expansion of drive-thru stores with 15 new locations. (Newswires)

Other News

Zipcar – CEO Scott Griffith has announced that he is leaving the company in a letter to employees. (Newswires)

Dick's Sporting Goods – Barron’s says the Co. will get back on track. (Newswires)

Transocean – Co. board has rejected Icahn’s proposal for dividend and director nominees. As a reminder, Icahn proposed a dividend of USD 4 per share. (Newswires)

Krispy Kreme – Co. sees FY14 adjusted EPS USD 0.53-0.57 vs. Exp. USD 0.58. (Newswires)

Office Depot – Co. is extending talks to sell its Mexico unit to Grupo Gigante SAB past a March 15 deadline according to sources. The talks were said to be prolonged in part because Office Depot is involved in the purchase of OfficeMax for USD 1.17bln. (Newswires)

Magnum Hunter Resources – Co. announced that, due to the reasons previously disclosed in its SEC filings and as further described, the filing of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 will be delayed beyond the extended due date of March 18. (Newswires)

Suncoke Energy - Co. and Visa Steel launch a joint venture in India. (Newswires)

LDK Solar - Co. CEO Zhu has resigned for personal reasons. (Newswires)

Broker Moves

Upgrades

UNITED TECHNOLOGIES UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT CITIGROUP

HEWLETT-PACKARD UPGRADED TO OVERWEIGHT FROM EQUAL WEIGHT AT MORGAN STANLEY

VERIZON UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT CITIGROUP

AMD UPGRADED TO OUTPERFORM FROM UNDERPERFORM AT MACQUARIE

PEABODY ENERGY UPGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM REDUCE AT NOMURA

ARCH COAL UPGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM REDUCE AT NOMURA

BEST BUY UPGRADED TO OVERWEIGHT FROM NEUTRAL AT JPMORGAN

INTUITIVE SURGICAL UPGRADED TO BUY FROM HOLD AT CANACCORD

GLU MOBILE UPGRADED TO OUTPERFORM FROM MARKET PERFORM AT NORTHLAND SECURITIES

MICHAEL KORS SHARES RECOMMENDED AT GOLDMAN

BROADCOM ADDED TO SHORT-TERM BUY LIST AT DEUTSCHE BANK

Downgrades

GENERIC DRUG SECTOR DOWNGRADED TO MARKET WEIGHT AT WELLS FARGO

KIMBERLY CLARK DOWNGRADED TO SELL FROM NEUTRAL AT GOLDMAN

J.M. SMUCKER DOWNGRADED TO SELL FROM NEUTRAL AT GOLDMAN

CARNIVAL DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM OUTPERFORM AT EXANE BNP PARIBAS

CENTERPOINT ENERGY DOWNGRADED TO UNDERPERFORM FROM NEUTRAL AT CREDIT SUISSE

ACTAVIS DOWNGRADED TO MARKET PERFORM FROM OUTPERFORM AT WELLS FARGO

TEVA DOWNGRADED TO MARKET PERFORM FROM OUTPERFORM AT WELLS FARGO

MICRON DOWNGRADED TO NEGATIVE FROM NEUTRAL AT SUSQUEHANNA

PROGRESSIVE DOWNGRADED TO UNDERWEIGHT FROM EQUAL WEIGHT AT EVERCORE

AMERISOURCEBERGEN DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM BUY AT UBS

CHESAPEAKE DOWNGRADED TO TRIM FROM HOLD AT TUDOR PICKERING

CINCINNATI FINANCIAL DOWNGRADED TO MARKET PERFORM AT KEEFE BRUYETTE