German Goalie Germany
Today was all about Europe. But Facebook is still in the headlines.
First the scoreboard:
Dow: 12,494, -7.8, -0.0%

S&P 500: 1,318, +2.2, +0.1%

NASDAQ: 2,850, +11.2, +0.3%

And now the top stories:


  • European markets got crushed today.  Leading the way down were Italy's FTSE MIB and Spain's IBEX indices, which fell 3.7 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively. This bloodbath comes ahead of an informal—but highly anticipated—EU summit in Brussels today, where leaders are expected to discuss Greece's membership in the euro currency among other things.  

  • In a note to clients, UBS's George Magnus warns that there is basically no good way for Greece to exit the euro.  It "should be seen as the plague under all circumstances."  But whatever the case, Magnus warns that a disorderly exit would cause rampant contagion. 

  • Amidst all of this volatility, Nomura's Michael Kurtz believes the markets are blowing fears way out of proportion.  "...all this market weeping and gnashing of teeth could prove yet another significant buying opportunity: Greece may yet exit the euro after all, but with effective ECB and global policy action its impact could be limited to no more than the rounding error that the Hellenic Republic’s small size and deplorable politics render most fitting," he wrote.

  • April new home sales climbed 3.3 percent to 343k annualized.  Economists were looking for a more modest increase to just 335k.  In more good housing news, the FHFA house price index jumped 1.8 percent, beating expectations of 0.3 percent.  But the U.S. housing market isn't completely in the clear.  Bank of America economist Michelle Meyer notes that banks continue to be reluctant to lend to lower quality buyers.  

  • Oil prices fell below $90/barrel for the first time since last October.

  • Gold tumbled for the third day in a row.  This despite a parade of gold bulls predicting $3,000/oz.  It also fell because when it's risk off everything sells 

  • Details continue to surface regarding the circumstances surrounding Facebook's IPO.  Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter told Business Insider's Joe Weisenthal something extraordinary.  "However, had Mr. Zuckerberg worn a jacket and reassured investors that he is aligned with their expectations, perhaps more people would be stepping in to buy now." Meanwhile, Aswath Damodaran, NYU's valuation guru, thinks Facebook is worth $29 per share.

  • In a late headline, Google won its big lawsuit with Oracle over patents used for Android.  Oracle claimed Google had illegally used certain Java patents for its smartphone.

  • Hewlett-Packard announces quarterly earnings after the close.