.jpg){kind=small}
Will the stock market turn around today? Shares in big U.S. technology companies slid yesterday because of Oracle's weak sales results. Traders were also concerned that Cyprus may be running out of time to avoid bankruptcy. The Dow dropped 90 points, closing at 14,421. The S&P 500 was down 13 points to 1,545. The Nasdaq closed down 31 1/2 points. Futures trading suggests a dip at this morning's opening.
- International stock markets are lower today. Japanese stocks tumbled as investors were disappointed by a lack of specifics from the new central bank chief on boosting the economy. Elsewhere, markets were lower because of uncertainty over the restructuring of troubled banks in Cyprus. The dollar fell against the euro and the yen. Benchmark crude oil rose but remains below $93 a barrel.
- Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski (jen-uh-KOW'-skee) is reportedly set to announce today that he will step down. That's according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Genachowski has pushed for more access to high-speed Internet in rural America, and contributed to AT&T's decision to abandon its acquisition of T-Mobile in 2011.
- Michael Dell is about to find out if other bidders think his company is worth more than he does. The answer could come today. It marks the end of a 45-day period that Dell's board of directors settled on to allow for offers that might top a Feb. 5 agreement to sell the PC maker to CEO Michael Dell and a group of investors for $24.4 billion. Blackstone Group is emerging as a likely candidate to trump the current bid of $13.65 per share.
- Lawmakers in Cyprus are meeting today to try to piece together another bailout proposal that international leaders will accept so the country can avoid imminent bankruptcy. Among the matters at issue is Laiki, the country's second largest lender which was hardest hit from its exposure to bad Greek debt. An earlier plan to grab 10 percent of people's bank deposits was rejected.
